During the Labour Day weekend there were 41,400 tourists in Croatia, who generated 157,000 bed nights, which is 277 percent more bed nights than in the same period last year, and the number of bed nights for all of April was 116 percent higher year on year, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) told Hina on Monday.

The 41,400 tourists in Croatia over the Labour Day weekend was an increase of as much as 2,000 percent compared with the same period in 2020 when the country was in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and there were hardly any tourists at all.

This year’s numbers give “some hope and optimism and indicate further positive trends,” the HTZ said.

In April, there were 239,000 tourists in Croatia, which is 2,356 more than in April 2020, while the number of bed nights increased by 116 percent to 846,000.

In the first four months of the year 592,000 tourists were registered in Croatia and about 2 million bed nights, which is about 90 percent of last year’s results or a contraction of 10 percent. The HTZ noted that in the first two months and a half of 2020 there weren’t travel restrictions in the world, but that they were imposed afterwards.

Brnjac: Croatia prepared for more tourists

Commenting on the results, Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac said, according to a press release issued by her ministry, that despite the pandemic Croatia recorded a successful four months.

“Croatia is recognised as a responsible and safe tourism destination, which is confirmation of all the efforts we are investing in creating optimal preconditions for tourists and citizens,” said Brnjac.

Great interest has been expressed by guests from Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovenia, she said, adding that “this positive trend will continue with a favourable epidemiological situation.”

Data from eVisitor and eCrew (nautical tourism) indicate that foreign tourists were predominant during the Labour Day weekend, accounting for 23,000 of the total of 41,400 tourists, and of the 157,000 bed nights generated during that weekend, 112,000 were by foreign tourists.

The majority of bed nights were generated by domestic tourists followed by those from Slovenia, Poland and Germany.

Most bed nights were recorded in istria, Kvarner, Split-Dalmatia County and Zadar County, with Rovinj, Zagreb, Porec, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Mali Losinj and Split as the most popular destinations in terms of bed nights.