TOURIST ARRIVALS AND NIGHTS IN COMMERCIAL ACCOMMODATION, AUGUST 2024

In August 2024, there were 5.8% more tourist arrivals and 1.1% more tourist nights compared to August 2023

In August 2024, there were 4.7 million tourist arrivals and 27.2 million tourist nights in commercial accommodation establishments, which was an increase of 5.8% in tourist arrivals and of 1.1% in tourist nights compared to August 2023. Concerning the structure of total realised tourist nights, 91.7% of them were realised by foreign tourists and 8.3% by domestic tourists.  

Domestic tourists realised 447 thousand arrivals and 2.3 million nights in August 2024, which was 19.9% more arrivals and 11.6% more nights than in August 2023. On average, domestic tourists realised 5.1 nights per arrival.

Foreign tourists realised 4.2 million arrivals and 24.9 million nights in August 2024, which was 4.5% more arrivals and 0.2% more nights compared to August 2023. On average, foreign tourists realised 5.9 nights per arrival.

Notice

Detailed monthly data are available on the website of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, under "PC-Axis databases", where it is possible to browse and print data in various forms. Databases are updated at the monthly basis.

 

German tourists realised the most tourist nights, followed by tourists from Poland, Slovenia, Austria and Italy

In August 2024, tourists from Germany realised the most foreign tourist arrivals and nights, as many as 876 thousand arrivals and 6.8 million nights, which accounted for 20.6% of the total realised foreign arrivals and 27.4% of the total realised foreign nights in Croatia. Compared to August 2023, tourists from Germany realised 1.3% more arrivals, but 2.3% less nights. They spent most of their nights in the County of Istria (3.2 million nights) and the County of Primorje-Gorski kotar (1.5 million nights). Compared to August 2023, both counties recorded less tourist nights realised by tourists from Germany. The County of Istria recorded 1.3% less nights and the County of Primorje-Gorski kotar 2.6% less.

These were followed by the nights realised by tourists from Poland (8.4%), Slovenia (8.0%), Austria (7.8%), Italy (7.0%), Hungary (5.5%), the Czech Republic (5.4%), the Netherlands (4.4%) and Slovakia (4.3%). In August 2024, as compared to August 2023, less tourist nights were realised by tourists from the Czech Republic (by 7.2%), Italy (by 7.0%) and the Netherlands (by 13.0%), while more tourist nights were realised by tourists from Austria (by 1.5%), Hungary (by 13.5%), Poland (by 2.4%), Slovenia (by 5.5%) and Slovakia (by 1.0%).

 

The most tourist nights were realised in the group Holiday and other short-stay accommodation

In August 2024, the group Holiday and other short-stay accommodation recorded the highest number of tourist nights, as many as 15.4 million of them, which was 56.5% of the total realised nights. Compared to August 2023, there were 0.8% more tourist nights realised in this group. In August 2024, the average (gross) occupancy rate of permanent beds in the group Holiday and other short-stay accommodation was 71.4%.

These were followed by tourist nights realised in the group Camping sites and camping grounds, as many as 6.7 million tourist nights, which was 24.5% of the total realised tourist nights. Compared to August 2023, 0.9% more nights were realised in this group of accommodation. In August 2024, the average (gross) occupancy rate of permanent beds in the group Camping sites and camping grounds was 82.2%.

As regards to the group Hotels and similar accommodation, 5.2 million tourist nights were realised there, which accounted for 19.0% of the total realised tourist nights. An increase in the number of tourist nights of 2.1% was recorded in this group of accommodation, as compared to August 2023. By the size of accommodation establishments and with regard to the number of rooms, the most tourist nights were realised in large accommodation establishments (establishments from the groups Hotels and similar accommodation with 100 or more rooms), namely 4.0 million of them, which was 77.7% of the total number of tourist nights realised in the group Hotels and similar accommodation. In August 2024, the average (gross) occupancy rate of permanent beds in this group was 97.6%.

 

Domestic tourists spent the most nights in Crikvenica and foreign tourists in Rovinj – Rovigno

In August 2024, domestic tourists spent the most of their nights in Crikvenica, where they realised 83 thousand nights. These were followed by tourist nights realised by domestic tourists in Biograd na Moru (81 thousand), Vodice (80 thousand), Mali Lošinj (74 thousand) and Šibenik (73 thousand). In all these cities, in August 2024 compared to August 2023, domestic tourists realised more tourist nights.

In August 2024, foreign tourists spent the most of their nights in Rovinj – Rovigno, 1.0 million nights to be specific. Compared to August 2023, foreign tourists realised 0.1% more nights in Rovinj – Rovigno. These were followed by foreign tourist nights spent in Medulin (875 thousand), Poreč – Parenzo (779 thousand), Umag – Umago and Dubrovnik (749 thousand each), and Split (664 thousand).

 

Out of 1.1 million available permanent beds, 61.6% were in the group Holiday and other short-stay accommodation

In August 2024, there were 428 thousand rooms, apartments and camping sites available to tourists, with a total of 1.1 million permanent beds. Compared to August 2023, there were 1.4% more rooms, apartments and camping sites available and 1.7% more permanent beds.

In the group Holiday and other short-stay accommodation, tourists had 260 thousand rooms, apartments and camping sites at their disposal (which was 60.6% of the total number of available rooms, apartments and camping sites), with 694 thousand permanent beds (which was 61.6% of the total number of available permanent beds).

In the group Camping sites and camping grounds, tourists had 87 thousand rooms, apartments and camping sites at their disposal (which was 20.3% of the total number of available rooms, apartments and camping sites), with 261 thousand permanent beds (which was 23.2% of the total number of available permanent beds).

In the group Hotels and similar accommodation, tourists had 81 thousand rooms and apartments at their disposal (which was 19.0% of the total number of available rooms and apartments), with 171 thousand permanent beds (which was 15.2% of the total number of available permanent beds). In August 2024, the average (net) occupancy rate of bedrooms was 83.8% and of permanent beds it was 98.2%.

Tourists aged up to 14 realised the most nights

In August 2024, tourists aged up to 14 realised the most nights, as many as 6.2 million of them (which accounted for 22.9% of the total realised nights). These were followed by tourist nights realised by tourists aged 35 to 44, with 5.3 million nights (which accounted for 19.3% of the total realised nights).

In the first eight months of 2024, there were 4.4% more tourist arrivals and 1.6% more tourist nights than in the same period of 2023

In the first eight months of 2024, there were 16.0 million tourist arrivals, and 77.2 million tourist nights realised in commercial accommodation establishments, which was 4.4% more arrivals and 1.6% more nights compared to the same period of 2023. Concerning the structure of the total realised tourist nights, 91.1% were realised by foreign tourists and 8.9% by domestic tourists.

Domestic tourists realised 2.0 million arrivals and 6.9 million nights in the first eight months of 2024, which was an increase of 8.7% in tourist arrivals and of 7.2% in tourist nights compared to the same period of 2023. On average, they realised 3.4 nights per arrival.

In the first eight months of 2024, foreign tourists realised 13.9 million arrivals and 70.3 million nights, which was 3.8% more arrivals and 1.1% more nights compared to the same period of 2023. On average, they realised 5.0 nights per arrival.

Tourists from Germany realised the most foreign tourist nights (16.8 million nights, which accounted for 23.9% of the total realised foreign tourist nights). They were followed by tourists from Slovenia (9.8%), Austria (8.6%), Poland (8.3%), the Czech Republic (5.7%), Italy and Hungary (4.6% each) as well as Slovakia and the United Kingdom (4.0% each). In the first eight months of 2024, as compared to the same period of 2023, less tourist nights were realised by tourists from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy. Tourists from Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, the United Kingdom and Hungary realised more tourist nights in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023.

In the first eight months of 2024, the County of Istria recorded 30.4% of total number of tourist nights

The highest number of tourist nights in the first eight months of 2024 was realised in the County of Istria, as many as 23.5 million of them, which accounted for 30.4% of the total number of tourist nights realised in Croatia. The County of Split-Dalmatia followed with 15.0 million realised tourist nights, which accounted for 19.4% of the total realised tourist nights in Croatia, and so did the County of Primorje-Gorski kotar with 12.8 million nights, which accounted for 16.6% of the total realised tourist nights in Croatia. Only the County of Primorje-Gorski kotar recorded a decrease in the number of tourist nights, by 0.8%, the County of Split-Dalmatia had an increase of 2.9% in the number of tourist nights, while in the County of Istria the number of tourist nights remained the same as in August 2023.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

The purpose of the statistical survey

The purpose of the statistical survey Tourist Arrivals and Nights is to monitor the tourist activity realised in commercial accommodation establishments and to provide internationally comparable data in accordance with European standards for tourism statistics. The results of this survey ensure the basic indicators necessary for the analysis of tourism in the Republic of Croatia. The basic indicators are the following: tourist arrivals and nights by country of residence, types of accommodation establishments, tourists by sex and age groups, mode of arrival as well as the number of rooms and permanent beds.

Legal basis

The survey is implemented on the basis of the Official Statistics Act (NN, Nos 25/20 and 155/23) and the Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism.

Observation units

The observation units are all legal entities and natural persons that provide overnight accommodation services, as well as natural persons who provide hospitality services in households and on private family farms.

The Hospitality and Catering Industry Act (NN, Nos 85/15, 121/16, 99/18, 25/19, 98/19, 32/20, 42/20 and 126/21) defines the manner and conditions under which legal entities and natural persons can provide overnight accommodation in an accommodation establishment.

Sources and methods of data collection

The data source for the statistical survey on tourism activity (the number of tourist arrivals and nights) and accommodation establishments is the eVisitor system. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics takes over the data from the administrative source eVisitor system from the Croatian National Tourist Board on a monthly basis and further processes them statistically. Monthly data are downloaded on the seventh day of the month for the previous month.

All legal entities and natural persons that provide overnight accommodation services in an accommodation establishment, as well as natural persons who provide hospitality services in households and on private family farms, according to the Ordinance on the eVisitor system (NN, No 43/20), check in and check out tourists via the eVisitor system, as the central electronic system for checking in and checking out tourists in the Republic of Croatia.

Coverage and comparability

This statistical survey covers accommodation establishments that are categorised in the groups Hotels, Camping sites and Other accommodation establishments pursuant to the Hospitality and Catering Industry Act (NN, Nos 85/15, 121/16, 99/18, 25/19, 98/19, 32/20, 42/20 and 126/21). The Minister of Tourism prescribes the types of accommodation establishments within these groups in an ordinance.

According to the Ordinance on the Classification, Categorisation and Special Standards of Accommodation Establishments in the group Hotels (NN, Nos 56/16 and 120/19), the types of accommodation establishments are the following: hotels, heritage hotels, all-suite hotels, integral hotels, diffuse hotels, special-standard hotels, spa-type accommodation, tourist resorts, tourist apartments, boarding houses and guest houses.

According to the Ordinance on the Classification and Categorisation of Accommodation Establishments in the group Camping sites (NN, Nos 75/08, 54/16, 68/19 and 120/19), the types of accommodation establishments are the following: camping sites, glamping, small camps and quickstop camping.

According to the Ordinance on the Classification and Categorisation of Accommodation Establishments in the group Other accommodation establishments (NN, Nos 54/16 and 69/17), the types of accommodation establishments are the following: rooms, apartments, studio-type suites, holiday houses, overnight accommodations, vacation establishments for children, hostels, mountain lodges, hunting lodges, pupils’ homes or students’ homes or akademis and Robinson-type accommodation establishments.

According to the Ordinance on the Classification and Categorisation of Establishments Providing Hospitality and Catering Services in Households (NN, Nos 9/16, 54/16, 61/16, 69/17 and 120/19), accommodation establishments in households are the following: rooms, suites, studio-type suites, holiday houses, camping sites, quickstop camping and Robinson-type accommodation (quickstop camping – Robinson-type accommodation).

According to the Ordinance on the Classification and Categorisation of Establishments Providing Hospitality and Catering Services on Private Family Farms (NN, Nos 54/16, 69/17 and 120/19), these are the following: rooms, suites, rural holiday houses, camping sites, quickstop camping and Robinson-type accommodation (quickstop camping – Robinson-type accommodation).

Pursuant to Article 29 of the Hospitality and Catering Industry Act (NN, Nos 85/15, 121/16, 99/18, 25/19, 98/19, 32/20, 42/20 and 126/21), this statistical survey also covers organised off-site camping sites. During sports, scout, cultural/artistic and similar events as well as during organised trips in canoes and similar vessels on sea, rivers and lakes, or by bikes etc., organised off-site camping is allowed on spaces provided for it.

This statistical survey also covers the following establishments providing accommodation services: spas, inns offering accommodation services and uncategorised establishments.

Pursuant to the Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism, data on tourist arrivals and nights in the Republic of Croatia according to the NKD 2007, division 55, groups 55.1 Hotels and similar accommodation, 55.2 Holiday and other short-stay accommodation and 55.3 Camping sites and camping grounds are submitted to the Eurostat on a monthly basis. Data submitted for the group 55.1 Hotels and similar accommodation also include information on occupancy rates of permanent beds and rooms (net). The mentioned data are published on the Eurostat’s website http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat and are comparable to EU Member States data.

Pursuant to the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the Introduction of Temporary Protection in the Republic of Croatia for Displaced Persons from Ukraine of 7 March 2022, the citizens of Ukraine are granted temporary protection in accordance with the Act on International and Temporary Protection (NN, Nos 70/15, 127/17 and 33/23). Persons from Ukraine who have not requested temporary protection in the Republic of Croatia use the service of accommodation in a short-stay accommodation establishment and pay for the accommodation service. Therefore, they are registered in the eVisitor system and are considered tourists.

The data do not include non-commercial tourist traffic (the stay of owners and their relatives and friends in apartments and holiday houses as well as of tourists in other establishments where accommodation service is not charged, e.g., when they are accommodated by citizens of a tourist town/municipality). Non-commercial tourist traffic is covered by a separate statistical survey.

Confidentiality

Aggregate data for which there are reasons for keeping their confidentiality in line with the Official Statistics Act (NN, Nos 25/20 and 155/23) and with the Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics are treated as confidential and are not published.

Definitions

Tourism means the activity of visitors taking a trip to or staying in a main destination outside their usual environment for less than a year, for the purposes of leisure, business or other personal purposes other than to be employed by a resident entity in the place visited.

eVisitor is the central electronic system for checking in and checking out tourists that serves to link all tourist boards in the Republic of Croatia. It is available via internet with no need for any additional software installations.

The tourist registry in the eVisitor system is kept separately for each individual legal entity and natural person offering accommodation services as part of the hospitality and catering activity (boarding houses, hotels, hostels, etc.), or on a sea vessel as part of the nautical tourism (charter, cruising), as well as accommodation services in households and rural households.

Checking in and checking out the tourists who are entered into the eVisitor system is authorised on the basis of a secure access to the eVisitor authentication protocol which ensures the conditions for a safe and correct electronic check-in and check-out.

Establishing and running the eVisitor system is the responsibility of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB).

CNTB is a national tourist organisation founded in order to create and promote the identity and reputation of Croatian tourism, to plan and implement a common strategy and concept of its promotion, to propose and perform promotional activities of mutual interest for all entities in tourism in the country and abroad, as well as to raise the overall quality of the entire tourist offer in the Republic of Croatia. The head office of the CNTB is situated in Zagreb. The duties of the President of the Croatian National Tourist Board are undertaken by the Minister of Tourism.

Tourist is any person who, outside his/her place of usual residence, spends at least one night in a hotel or some other tourist accommodation establishment for reasons of rest, recreation, health, study, sport, religion, family, business, public missions or meetings. Excluded are persons residing at a place for longer than 12 consecutive months, persons whose main reason for visiting is an activity that is financed from the place of visit, persons who travel to their work place or an education institution on a daily or weekly basis, persons coming into or going out of the country as migrants, frontier workers, diplomats, consular representatives and military force members on their regular duties, displaced persons, nomads and persons in transit.

Domestic tourist is any person permanently residing in the Republic of Croatia who spends at least one night in a hotel or some other tourist accommodation establishment outside his/her place of permanent residence.

Foreign tourist is any person permanently residing outside the Republic of Croatia who temporarily resides in the Republic of Croatia and who spends at least one night in a hotel or some other tourist accommodation establishment.

Tourist arrival is the number of persons (tourists) who were registered and stayed overnight in an accommodation establishment. Consequently, in case tourists change the accommodation establishment they stay in, they are re-registered, which results in data ambiguity. Statistics thus registers the number of tourist arrivals and not the number of tourists.

Tourist nights refer to every registered overnight stay of a person (tourist) in an accommodation establishment.

Residence is the place where a person settles with the intention of a permanent stay.

Age group of tourists is presented according to the years of age at the time of stay in a tourist accommodation establishment.

Accommodation capacities are presented as the number of rooms, apartments and camping sites, and the number of permanent beds. The application of the Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism means that the capacity of an accommodation establishment presented is taken over from the month when it reached its maximum.

Permanent beds are those that are regularly available to guests.

Occupancy rate of permanent beds (net) in the reference period is obtained by dividing the total number of nights by the number of beds on offer and the number of days when the beds are actually available for use during the reference period. The data is expressed as a percentage.

Occupancy rate of bedrooms (net) in the reference period is obtained by dividing the total number of bedrooms used during the reference period by the number of bedrooms available for use during the reference period. The data is expressed as a percentage.

Occupancy rate of permanent beds (gross) in the reference period is obtained by dividing the total number of nights by the number of beds on offer and the number of days in the month. The data is expressed as a percentage.

According to Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism, the criterion for determining the size of a tourist accommodation establishment from the group Hotels and similar accommodation is the number of rooms and apartments (accommodation units). Tourist accommodation establishments from the group 55.1 Hotels and similar accommodation are classified according to the number of rooms and apartments into:

– small establishments: less than 25 rooms

– medium-sized establishments: between 25 and 99 rooms

– large establishments: 100 or more rooms, sub-divided into two groups: between 100 and 249 rooms, and 250 or more rooms.

Division 55 of the NKD 2007 includes the provision of short-stay accommodation services to tourists. Particular units may only provide accommodation services, while others may combine the services of accommodation, catering and/or recreation equipment. Tourist accommodation establishments listed in this division are broken down into four groups.

Group 55.1 Hotels and similar accommodation includes the following types of accommodation establishments: hotels, heritage hotels, all-suite hotels, integral hotels, diffuse hotels, spa-type accommodation, special standard hotels, tourist resorts, tourist apartments, boarding houses and guest houses.

Group 55.2 Holiday and other short-stay accommodation includes rooms, apartments, studio-type suites, summer houses, rural summer houses, hostels, spas, overnight accommodation, vacation establishments for children, inns offering accommodation services, mountain lodges, hunting lodges, pupils’ homes or students’ homes and Robinson-type accommodation establishment.

Group 55.3 Camping sites and camping grounds include camping sites, glamping, small camps, quickstop camping, quickstop camping in households ‒ Robinson-type accommodation, quickstop camping on private family farms ‒ Robinson-type accommodation, and organised off-site camping sites.

Group 55.9 Other accommodation includes uncategorised establishments.

Territorial constitution

Data by counties, cities and municipalities are given by the territorial constitution according to the Act on County, City and Municipality Areas in the Republic of Croatia (NN, Nos 86/06, 125/06, 16/07, 95/08, 46/10, 145/10, 37/13, 44/13, 45/13 and 110/15).

 

Abbreviations
EU	European Union
Eurostat	Statistical Office of the European Union
NKD 2007	National Classification of Activities, 2007 version
NN	Narodne novine, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia

 

Symbols
-	no occurrence

 

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