Croatia sees strong return of Czech, Hungarian and Italian visitors this year
- by croatiaweek
- in News
Croatia’s tourism sector has recorded encouraging growth from several key European markets, with preliminary eVisitor data showing a strong return of visitors from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy during July and the first seven months of 2026.
The figures are particularly significant for the Czech market, which has experienced several years of declining tourist traffic. The latest results suggest that trend is now reversing.
Compared with July last year, arrivals from the Czech Republic increased by 12%, while overnight stays were up 7%. Across the first seven months of 2026, both arrivals and overnight stays rose by 5% year-on-year.
Czech visitors generated the highest number of overnight stays in Istria, Split-Dalmatia County and Zadar County, with Umag, Poreč and Medulin among their most popular destinations.
The Hungarian market also continued its steady growth. During July, arrivals increased by 8% and overnight stays by 7% compared with the same month last year. Between January and July, both arrivals and overnight stays were 7% higher than in the corresponding period of 2025.
Hungarian tourists spent most of their holidays in Kvarner, Istria and Zadar County.
Meanwhile, Italy also showed positive momentum after several years of relatively flat tourism performance. During the first seven months of 2026, arrivals and overnight stays from the Italian market both increased by 2%, while July arrivals were up 1%.
The positive trend is expected to continue during August, when the traditional Ferragosto holiday period sees many Italians travel abroad for their summer break. Italian visitors have also shown strong interest in Croatia during the pre-season, particularly for short weekend breaks to Istria and Kvarner.
The data is based on preliminary figures from the eVisitor system. Final official tourism statistics for July and the first seven months of 2026 will be released once all late registrations have been processed and the data has been finalised.
