Croatia offers numerous opportunities to the nautical sector. But despite a strong pre-season, the number of tourists falls in the high season.
Zagreb — The beautiful beaches of the Adriatic Sea, national parks or historic cities attract millions of visitors to Croatia every year. Since the Corona pandemic, tourism figures in Croatia have recovered significantly, like this Croatia travel magazine explained. Some cities are even overrun by tourists. The nautical sector does not seem to be able to keep up with the trend. If the sector was the only one with positive numbers during the pandemic, the numbers fell again in July 2023.
Croatia |
Zagreb |
4 million (as of 2022) |
18.9 million in 2022 |
Despite holiday boom in Croatia: declining numbers in the nautical sector
The number of overnight stays in July fell by five percent compared to the previous year, according to the Croatian portal jutarnji.hr reported. The arrivals of boats and yachts have fallen by four percent. By July, the numbers rose only slightly, according to data from the Croatian Tourist Board. Overnight stays increased by two percent and arrivals by one.
The Director of the Nautical Tourist Board of the HGK Paško Klisović said jutarnji.hrthat for some time it has been certain that water tourism will see falling numbers in July. In addition to the weather, the increasing attractiveness of other holiday countries such as Greece for ships and boats has also increased. The rising prices in the high season are for Klisović a main reason. Numerous vacationers have already taken action due to the price explosions and canceled their trips. In response, some hosts lowered their prices.
Croatia: Declining tourism figures in the nautical sector — high prices as the main reason
“By that I mean above all the entrance fees for national parks and nature parks, which have increased significantly, as well as the prices for berths and other services in marinas,” says Klisović. Many countries such as Germany, Austria or Poland could not keep up with the high prices.
The 2023 season started very early, like the portal glashrvatske.hrt.hr wrote in June. The first boats are said to have already arrived in March, as Leo Ajduković, the director of ACI Marine in Dubrovnik, told the portal. Normally the pre-season would not start until after Easter. Whether the season for the nautical sector will be postponed can only be guessed at. The nautical sector deals with everything related to water and water tourism. These include shops and services, the marine industry, marinas and water sports.
If you still want to spend your vacation in Croatia, you should find out about the rules. Cities like Split have among other things tightened their alcohol rules. (vk)
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