Croatia's state statistics bureau reported on Thursday that numbers of tourists staying in commercial accommodation in 2020 had dropped 64 percent year-on-year, generating 40.8 million bed nights, or a drop of 55 percent compared to 2019.

The drops are attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing travel restrictions imposed globally.

As for foreign tourists, who traditionally account for the majority of arrivals and bed nights, their numbers dropped by 5.5 million or 68 percent in 2020, generating 35.3 million bed nights, a 58 percent drop compared to the record high 2019.

The number of domestic tourists dropped 34 percent to 1.45 million, generating 5.4 million bed nights or 24 percent down from 2019.

The bureau also released data for December, which recorder a 83 percent drop in total visitors and a 76 percent drop in bed nights year-on-year.

Only 16,000 foreigners visited Croatia in December and they generated 82,000 bed nights, drops of 93 percent and 84 percent respectively.

By nationality, the largest single group of visitors were Americans, and the most popular destinations were the Split-Dalmatia County which includes Croatia’s largest coastal city of Split, and the capital Zagreb. Other popular countries of origin were Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, France and the United Kingdom.

Rooms, apartments, and holiday homes for rent accounted for about 54 percent of all bed nights generated in commercial accommodation, with hotels accounting for only 35 percent.