LINES of vehicles with tourists from Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic heading towards Croatia started to form on Saturday in the early morning hours in Austria, in front of the Karawanks tunnel in the direction of Slovenia.
According to Croatian Motorways, 37,601 vehicles entered the motorway at the Lučko toll station on Friday, only 7.5 percent fewer vehicles than on the same Friday last year.
The Croatian Tourism Association estimates that a million tourists visited Croatia the past weekend.
A busy weekend in Istria
From Friday to Sunday noon of the past weekend, 133,840 tourists, including 123,296 foreigners, entered Croatia at three border crossings in Istria – Plovanija, Kaštela, and Požane, making this the busiest weekend this summer.
"There is an increase in traffic, but there were no traffic jams or delays at border crossings," stated Natasa Rogic, a spokeswoman for the Istria Police Administration.
This weekend is the busiest in terms of traffic at the border crossings in Istria in the current tourist season.
One hundred thousand passengers in the Split ferry port and airport
About one hundred thousand passengers passed through the ferry port and the airport in Split the past weekend. The exact numbers will be known later today.
Because of the increased demand for island trips, two additional routes to Supetar were introduced the last weekend.
"We achieved 70 percent of the port traffic of the same period last year, which is excellent," Ivulić stated for Hina on Saturday.
There were 815,000 tourists in Croatia by Friday
There were 815,000 tourists in Croatia by Friday, and a quarter of them came from the German market. Vir is the Croatian destination with the most guests, followed by Rovinj, Medulin, Crikvenica, and Porec.
"We should be satisfied with the results, even though they don't come close to the results of last year, but given the situation, not only in Croatia but also in European markets, I think we are doing great. Looking at the period from January until today, the numbers show that we are now at almost 50 percent of the last season's results," stated the president of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic for N1.
Zadar County exceeded expectations
About 130 thousand guests are currently vacationing in the Zadar County. In the first eight days of August, the Zadar County achieved 72 percent of arrivals compared to the same period last year. When it comes to overnight stays, the results are even better – the county achieved 78 percent of last year's result, HRT reported, adding that the results exceeded expectations.
Most guests in the Zadar County come from Slovenia, followed by Germans and Poles. Most of them are staying in private accommodation units, in camps, hotels, and marinas. The whole county achieved good results, but Vir has the most tourists. Private accommodation units in Nin have so far achieved 77 percent of last year's turnover. HRT spoke to tourists who are staying there.
"This is our fourth year here. The sea is great, it's clear and not deep, ideal for kids," says Waldemar from Germany, adding that he is not afraid of the coronavirus.
"The situation was worse in Sweden, that's why we left," says Anita from BiH.
"My husband is Italian, but your side of the Adriatic is more beautiful," says Denise from Germany.
"Somehow, everything is calmer in Croatia," comments Yuhan from Germany.
"It's our first time here, and we're loving it," says Madlene of Germany.
"This town has everything we need, it's cozy and beautiful," commented Anja from Germany.