In the first quarter of 2024, Croatian seaports recorded almost 3.3 million passengers, an increase of 8.7 %, and handled 4.4 million tonnes of cargo, which is 25% less than in the same period in 2023, according to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

A total of 3.2 million passengers (+8.3%) were transported by ferries and passenger ships alone.

All major ferry ports recorded growth in passenger numbers. Around 1.2 million passengers used the ports of Split, Zadar and Preko (island of Ugljan).

Around 20,000 passengers came from cruise ships, which represents an increase of 154% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Most cruise ships and passengers visited the ports of Dubrovnik, Split and Sibenik.

Just over 50,200 ships visited Croatia during the reporting period, which is 1.3% more than at the same time last year.

In contrast to the number of passengers, cargo throughput in the seaports fell by 25% to 4.4 million tonnes. The largest volume of 1 million tonnes was handled in the port of Ploce, 20% less than in the first quarter of last year.

The only seaports to report an increase in cargo volumes were Bakar and Split, with an increase of 723,000 tonnes (+1.6%) and 577,100 tonnes (+19.3%) respectively.