All tourist records broken in Istria in 2023

Rovinj

Currently, more than 50,000 campers are enjoying their stay. Over the past few years, several hundred million euros have been invested in Croatian campsites, making them among the finest in Europe.

Croatian campsites surpassed their 2019 record in overnight stays last year. Their most frequent guests come from Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, with an increasing number arriving from more distant countries.

“Our Swedish campers told us that Croatia is beautiful,” Christian from Sweden told HRT.

Tourists are also happy with the prices.

“It’s not expensive. Prices are higher in Sweden, so it’s cheaper for us here,” emphasised Maria from Sweden.

More and more campsites are open year-round. In Istria alone, five will be open this winter.

“More and more facilities and services are adapting to winter operations, including indoor spaces, heated sanitary facilities, and heated pools. It’s certainly a significant challenge that awaits us in the future, but we are confident that it will be very successful in the market,” explained Adriano Palman, President of the Croatian Camping Association.

Campsites have been busy in October

Investments in spacious mobile homes and amenities like indoor playrooms and wellness centers will allow those who haven’t operated in the winter before to do so. Experts highlight that, due to changing climates, extreme heat is being avoided, extending the season into the fall and spring. This September has already proven more successful than the record-breaking year before.

“Istria has a new benchmark year, which is 2023. All possible tourist records have been broken. Now, in early October, Istria hosts 50,000, mostly foreign tourists, which is 25% more than in the same period last year, which was the best year until now. We are in the jewel of the Adriatic, in the champion of Croatian tourism, Rovinj,” said journalist Jasminka Kalčić.

Poreč

Like the entire Istrian region, Rovinj boasts excellent tourist results and was the first to surpass 4 million overnight stays.

“We have good tourist results. This year will likely be another record year for Rovinj. Currently, over 8,000 guests are staying in the city, mostly Germans, Austrians, domestic tourists, Swiss, and Slovenians. From the beginning of the year until now, we are at the same level as last year in terms of overnight stays. It’s worth noting that looking at months, from January to May, we had better results compared to the same months last year, and we also have better results now in September and early October,” said Iva Damuggio, the PR manager of the Rovinj Tourist Board, before adding.

Rovinj

”One of our primary goals is to alleviate the main months of the tourist season, for the benefit of the destination in general, for the residents, and for tourism in general. We organise numerous events and festivals in the pre-season and post-season. These are mostly gastronomic events, recreational and sports events, and this brings many guests in those periods of the year. The forecasts for October and November are good, and we believe that this year will end with very good tourist results. The city is still full, and these results will surely continue if we continue in this direction,” emphasised Damuggia.