In the latest report on Croatian Tourism released by the Croatian Tourism Board, we can see that both the total number of tourist arrivals and nights recorded double-digit YoY growth, increasing by 26% and 32%, respectively. Double-digit growth was also recorded as compared to 2019, with the total arrivals increasing by 17%, while the total nights grew by 34%.

March 2024 has shown signs of solid improvement for the Croatian tourism industry, with numbers exceeding both 2023 as well as 2019. In terms of the total arrivals, they amounted to 545.7k, growing by 26% YoY, with 377k of foreign arrivals, and 168.7k of domestic arrivals, representing increases of 35% and 9% YoY, respectively. Total tourist nights on the other hand, amounted to 1.48m, growing by 32% YoY, with 1.1m of foreign tourist nights, and 375k of domestic tourist nights, representing an increase of 39% and 13% YoY, respectively.

The numbers compared to 2019 also show an improvement, with the total arrivals increasing by 17%, driven by a 15% increase in foreign arrivals, and a 24% increase in domestic arrivals. On the flip side, total nights grew by 34% compared to 2019, with a 40% increase in foreign nights, and a 19% increase in domestic nights.

Total tourist arrivals and tourist nights in Croatia (January 2019 – March 2024)

Source: HTZ, InterCapital Research

The YoY improvement would also mean that the average stay per person amounted to 2.7 nights, an increase of 4.8% YoY. If we look at the tourist nights by accommodation, 93% of nights were registered in commercial accommodation, 6% in non-commercial accommodation, and 1% went to nautical accommodation. Inside the commercial accommodation, 61% of the nights were recorded in hotels, 21% in private accommodation, 8% in camps, while 10% was recorded in other types of accommodation.

In terms of the tourist nights by origin, 25% of all nights were domestic nights, 13% came from Germany, 11% from Austria, 9% from Slovenia, 5% from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 4% from Italy. Meanwhile, the best-performing counties with Istra with 439k nights, followed by Kvarner at 266.9k, Splitsko-dalmatinska at 172.8k, Grad Zagreb at 167.9k, and Dubrovačko-neretvanska at 111.5k.

Overall, March has shown very good signs for the Croatian tourism season also due to the fact that Easter holiday in Europe came in early this year and started in March already. While it can’t yet be considered pre-season which typically begins in April, the fact that such double-digit growth was recorded outside the main season is a quite positive development. If a similar trend continues for the remainder of the year, supported by better-than-expected economic data in Europe (e.g. lower inflation, weaker recessions if they did occur) then one could expect better sentiment from tourists. As such, if this trend continues, 2024 could end up being another record year, both in the number of arrivals/nights, but also in terms of revenue.