Croatia recorded a 5.3% drop in tourist arrivals in September 2024 compared to the same month last year, along with a 3.2% decrease in overnight stays. However, results for the first nine months show an increase, with 3% more tourists than in 2023, or 19.3 million visitors, and a 0.4% rise in overnight stays, totaling 102.6 million, according to the National Tourist Board (HTZ).
The decline in physical tourist traffic in September amounted to 2.4 million arrivals and 13.2 million overnight stays, with the HTZ data from the eVisitor system indicating a fall in the number of both domestic and foreign tourists.
In September, 2.2 million foreign tourists visited Croatia, a 5.6% decrease from the previous year, and generated nearly 12 million overnight stays, down by 3.5%.
The decline in domestic tourism was somewhat smaller, with 236,600 domestic tourists registered, a 3.4% drop, and 1.2 million overnight stays, down by 0.5% compared to September 2023.
Accommodation trends
By type of accommodation, the majority of commercial overnight stays in September 2024, 39% of the total, were in private accommodations or family rentals. Hotels accounted for 29%, campsites 23%, and other accommodation types made up 9%.
Most types of commercial accommodation (hotels, campsites, family rentals) saw a 3.6% decrease in overnight stays compared to last September. A similar decline was recorded in non-commercial accommodations.
On the other hand, nautical tourism (nautical charters) stood out as one of the rare sectors with growth, showing a 4.1% increase in overnight stays compared to September 2023.
Foreign tourists dominate tourism sector
Foreign tourists accounted for over 85% of total traffic, with the vast majority of overnight stays occurring in private accommodations.
The HTZ data show that in the first nine months of 2024, foreign tourists made up 87% of total arrivals, or 16.8 million, a 2.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Foreign tourists also accounted for 88.2% of total overnight stays, with 90.5 million overnight stays, representing a slight increase of 0.2% year-on-year.
There were 2.4 million domestic from the beginning of 2024 through the end of September, a 6.4% rise from last year. They contributed 12.1 million overnight stays, an increase of 1.3%.
Most of the overnight stays during the nine-month period were in commercial accommodations, which saw 87% of total stays or 89 million, reflecting a 1% rise compared to the same period last year.
(Hina/FaH)
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