Croatia has just announced its 2024 tourist ‘accounts’, a record year in which it has received 21.3 million visitors4% more than in 2023. According to the report published by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the number of overnight stays also grew, reaching 108.7 million, 1% more than in 2023.
The figure is very far from the approximately 95 million who have visited Spain (88.5 million in the first eleven months), but in proportion to the number of inhabitants the data draws attention. In Croatia it has 3,861,967 inhabitants, according to Eurostat.
Most of the overnight stays were recorded throughout the Adriatic coastwhich accumulated 103.3 million nights. However, tourism in inland regions also experienced a notable increase of 5%. The capital, Zagreb, particularly stood out, recording a 6% increase in overnight stays, reaching a total of 2.7 million.
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Tonči Glavina, celebrated these results, noting that 2024 has been a record year in all tourism parameters. “We can be very satisfied with the results achieved, including the financial indicators, because we have had another historic year,” Glavina said in a statement.
Dubrovnik, home to just over 40,000 people, welcomed 1.2 million visitors in 2023… not counting cruise passengers. Dubrovnik It has enjoyed and suffered the international success of Game of Thrones (the walled city was King’s Landing) and in summer there were 15,000 tourists a day. In recent years, the City Council has taken different measures such as reducing the number of cruise ships per day, prohibiting new permits for rental apartments in the old town or installing cameras to count the number of tourists.
Croatia nevertheless continues to be an attractive destination for shipping companies and tourists. Just over a million people passed through its ports in the first eleven months of 2024. Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Hvar were, in that order, the preferred destinations.
By area, the highest number of overnight stays is recorded in the Istrian peninsulain Split-Dalmatia County and on the Kvarner Islands. In terms of destinations, Dubrovnik, Rovinj (on the Istrian peninsula), Zagreb, Split (where there is a growing movement against excessive tourism), Poreč, Umag and Zadar stand out.
Minister Glavina believes, however, that Croatia is managing to bring tourists to other less known places and extend the season beyond the summer. The most significant growth, he said, occurred in the preseason and postseason periods, demonstrating that “we are becoming a year-round tourist destination.”
Croatia is part of the Schengen area (free movement area comprising 29 European countries) and the euro zone from January 1, 2023, which has undoubtedly helped increase the number of visitors.
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