Croatia to enjoy tourism boom after joining Schengen zone on January 1st
For the first time, Croatia is at ITB Berlin as a member of the Schengen zone. 2022 tourism revenues are to surpass its record 2019 levels, research shows.
Croatia is expected to enjoy record tourism revenues in 2022, according to the Croatian National Bank. The holiday destination saw €10.5 billion in revenue in 2019 which set a new record. But from January to September 2022, it had already reached €11.6 billion, up 23% from the same time in 2019.
The tourism boom is reassuring as the country joined the Euro zone to become the 27th country of the Schengen area on January 1, 2023. Its tourism revenues account for 20% of its GDP, excluding the pandemic period.
Last year, 18.9 million tourists touched down in Croatia, with 104.8 million overnight stays, tourism minister Nikolina Brnjac highlighted. It could have been more but there were often long queues at the border with Slovenia during the busy holiday season, as it was not yet part of the border-free Schengen area.
Tourist arrivals reached 91% and overnight stays 96% of the 2019 figures, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports pointed out in her statement.
Top destinations in Croatia
By region, the most overnight stays in 2022 were recorded in Istria, 29.5 million, followed by Split-Dalmatia County with 19.5 million, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with 18.3 million, Zadar County with 14.9 million, Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 8 million and Šibenik-Knin County with 6.8 million overnight stays.
In terms of destinations, Rovinj was again number one with 4.2 million overnight stays, followed by Dubrovnik with 3.8 million, Poreč with 3.4 million and Split with 3.1 million.
The Croatian National Tourist Board promotes Crikvenica, Dubrovnik, Funtana and Kirk among its top destinations. Other popular spots include Makarska, Mali Losing, Rob, Pula and Split.
Hall 1.2 / Stand 220
Photo: © Matthias Mullie – unsplash
