COVID-19 in defiance: 700.000 tourists currently in Croatia – most of them from Germany

In Germany, holidays have begun in the most populous federal states such as Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, and in view of the rather moderate weather prospects, many people are wondering whether it is possible to spend their holidays in Croatia despite the Covid-19 pandemic caused by Sars-CoV-2. Here it is advisable to have a look at the number of visitors to Croatia for July, which the eVisitor system has registered: it is 54% of arrivals in the same period last year. A merit that is probably also due to the strict implementation of the Corona guidelines. Even if here and there a few exceptions confirm the rule.

Tourism reaches 59 % of the previous year’s figures

The Croatian media company INDEXHR citing figures from the Croatian National Tourist Board literally: “According to the eVisitor system, which covers tourist traffic in the commercial and non-commercial sectors as well as sea charters, more than two million tourist arrivals were realized in Croatia in July, which corresponds to 54% of arrivals in the same period last year. There were 14.7 million tourist overnight stays, which is approximately 59% of the previous year’s result. Of the total number of arrivals, foreign tourists made 1.8 million arrivals (51% of the previous year’s result) and 12.5 million overnight stays (56% of the previous year’s result)”.

700,000 tourists currently in Croatia

“Under the current circumstances, these are excellent indicators and a good tourism development for August, in which we expect continued positive trends. The number of tourists currently on holiday in Croatia is around 700,000,” emphasised the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić.

Istria with Rovinj, Medulin, Porec and Umag most popular destinations

In the period from 1 to 26 July, measured in terms of the absolute number of arrivals, Germany is the leading nation’s tourism market, with German guests accounting for 92 per cent of the previous year’s result, followed by Slovenia with 91 per cent of the previous year’s result and Poland and the Czech Republic with around 82 per cent of last year’s result. The destinations with the highest number of arrivals in July can be found in Rovinj, Medulin, Crikvenica, Poreč, Umag and Split, as further stated in the notification.
 

A lot of space on the beach and attentive service

But what do these figures, which were published by the Croatian tourist board, actually mean in reality? Only half as many guests are currently holidaying in Croatia as in previous years, which means that holidaymakers who now decide to stay in the country at short notice have a good chance of encountering particularly attentive service and numerous free places on the beaches and in restaurants under similar pandemic conditions as in Germany or Austria, for example. In short: If you want to escape the bad weather for a short time and enjoy a few days of sun on the Adriatic, you should include Croatia in your holiday planning right now.

Long traffic jams before the Karawanken tunnel

However, one obstacle should not be underestimated on the way to the Adriatic Sea: Due to the numerous arrivals of the last weekend, long traffic jams formed at the Karawanken tunnel and at the border to Croatia. An employee of SeaHelp’s cooperation partner, the Tourism Agency Marco Polo in Medulin: “Our guests, who arrived on Saturday, were actually stuck in traffic jams for up to six hours in front of the Karawanken tunnel and complained about long waiting times at the Slovenian-Croatian border because of the huge rush despite “Enter Croatia”.

Avoid arrival at the weekend if possible

Those who have made up their minds spontaneously are therefore advised to avoid Saturday as the day of arrival for the next two weekends if possible. And another tip, which one forgets during the vacation: All, which enter Croatia, must leave sometime also again. And so it is quite likely that intensive controls by Slovenians will cause considerable traffic jams on the way back.

coastal regions largely spared from COVID-19

However, this is important for all tourists to Croatia: In the coastal regions, both the number of new infections and the number of active cases of COVID-19 remain at a relatively low level, while the coronavirus tends to spread in regions less frequented by foreigners, such as Slavonia and the greater Zagreb area.

Important links for travel to Croatia

Staus Österreich
Border waiting times Austria/Slovenia
Border waiting times border Croatia

Attention: Do not forget to register with EnterCroatia for entry into Croatia!

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