Croatia records 18 million tourist arrivals so far in 2018

Bol, Brač

Croatia will achieve a tourism record in 2018 after data for the first 9 months was unveiled today.

According to eVisitor, which records tourist traffic in Croatia, 18 million tourists have visited Croatia in the first 9 months of 2018, only 500,000 short of 2017 which was a record.

From 1 January to 30 September 18 million tourists arrivals were recorded in Croatia, up 6% from the same period last year which was a record year. 

Overnight stays were up 4% with 100.8 million recorded in the first 9 months. Foreign tourists made up 16.2 million of the total arrivals and 89.2 million of all overnight stays. 

During the first 9 months, the most overnight stays were recorded in Istria (27.5 million), followed by the Split-Dalmatia region (19 million), Kvarner (18.3 million) and Zadar (14 million). 

Away from the coast, Zagreb was the busiest with 6.9 million overnight stays. 

Dubrovnik (Photo: Ivo Pervan/Croatian National Tourist Board)

Germans created the most overnight stays in Croatia in the first 9 months with 20.3 million, followed by Slovenes (10.2 million), Austrians (7.4 million), Poles (6.2 million), and Czechs (5.4 million). 

The most visited destinations were Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Poreč, Medulin and Split. 

In September there were 2.3 million tourist arrivals, up 8% from September 2017. Overnight stays were up 2% to 13.3 million in September. 

Istria was the most popular region in September, followed by Split-Dalmatia, Kvarner, Zadar, Dubrovnik-Neretva and Šibenik-Lika. The top destinations in September were Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Poreč, Split and Umag. 

Last year, which was a record, Croatia recorded 18.5 million tourists which is expected to be surpassed this month.