Croatian Citizens Will Spend Around 1,000 Euros on Annual Vacations

This year, Croatian citizens mostly plan to travel within Croatia and Europe, with only a few planning to go outside of it, and on their annual vacation, they will spend an average of just over 1,000 euros, according to a new MasterIndex survey conducted on a sample of about one thousand adult citizens.

The traditional Mastercard travel survey conducted before summer was carried out by the agency Improve in March this year, noting that the sample consists of banking service users, of whom as many as 92 percent plan to travel this year, which is described by the card company as ‘optimistic’. About 77 percent of surveyed Croatian citizens plan to travel within Croatia this year, just over half of them in Europe, and only 6 percent outside Europe.

Seventy percent of respondents plan to spend their summer vacation in Croatia, which is similar to last year, while 7 percent prefer to vacation outside Croatia due to lower prices.

The biggest obstacle to traveling and vacationing for every fourth respondent is financial impossibility, while for 15 percent, it is financial insecurity. Researchers also point out that among those who do not plan to go to the sea this year, the majority, or 37 percent, live by the sea. For half of those who want to vacation in Croatia, private accommodation remains the most popular choice, similar to last year, with 35 percent staying in their own weekend homes or with relatives and friends, 17 percent in hotels, and only 4 percent in camps.

They plan to spend an average of ten days on vacation, and if they are in their own or friends’ accommodation, this extends to about 14 days, while in hotels it is about nine days and in camps ten. They plan to spend an average of around 1,000 euros on vacation, with the majority, or 39 percent, spending between 500 and 1,000 euros, and about 30 percent spending less than 500 euros.

By age, those aged 40 to 49 will spend the most, as well as those choosing higher-category hotel accommodation, averaging around 1,695 euros, and it is estimated that the highest daily spending will also be in hotels, around 142 euros per person. In private accommodation, it is about 91 euros per day, while those in their own accommodation will spend the least, around 54 euros.

Spending also depends on who they travel with, as those on vacations with partners or friends spend more (115 euros per day per person) than with family (about 36 euros per day per person), and the trend of declining cash payments for accommodation continues, with 53 percent of respondents now paying by card.

When asked about rising prices in general, fewer citizens said this year that it worries them compared to last year, with 46 percent expressing concern, which is 10 percentage points less, and researchers add that the share of those who have no worries related to travel is also increasing.

Croatia First in Europe for Growth in Overnight Stays Outside Summer

In the survey, the majority of citizens, or nearly 70 percent, stated that the most important factor in choosing a destination is the ratio of price to quality of accommodation, and the share of those seeking destinations without crowds is also increasing, to 41 percent.

In this context, the Croatian Mastercard office emphasizes the importance of sustainable tourism and conveys results from the annual report of the Mastercard Economics Institute Travel Trends 2024, according to which tourists increasingly want to travel outside the summer (May-June and September-October). According to the chief economist of the Mastercard Economics Institute for Europe, Natalija Lechmanova, this is particularly pronounced in Croatia.

“With an increase of 4.5 percentage points in the number of overnight stays outside the summer season in the last decade, Croatia holds the first place in this positive trend among European countries,” emphasizes Lechmanova.