Croatia Received 14.1 Million Arrivals This Year Thanks to Schengen Membership & Joining Eurozone
Prime Minister Plenkovic revealed that tourism rates have increased this year, following Croatia becoming a Schengen country and joining the Eurozone.
During a plenary session, he pointed out that in the pre-season, which was one of the best ones so far, continental counties received 800,000 arrivals, spending 1.7 million overnight stays, which accounts for a 16 and 15 per cent increase, respectively, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Since the beginning of the year, 14.1 million arrivals and 74.5 million overnight stays have been achieved, which is eight per cent more arrivals and three per cent more overnight stays than last year,” the PM said, also adding that domestic tourism also grew by 15 per cent in each, arrivals and nights spent.
Furthermore, Plenkovic noted that due to high amounts of precipitation in Austria and Slovenia, the levels of the Sava, Drava and Mura rivers that are shared with Croatia rose. However, no major spills were recorded.
On the other hand, Brdovec municipality was more affected by floods, with the levels of the Drava river reaching a high record.
“During that period, all the services that were available to our citizens were engaged, all together around 5,300 members of the army, police, fire brigade, Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, civil protection, Red Cross, Croatian Water and numerous local residents,” the Prime Minister, said, also thanking everyone for their engagement.
According to TotalCroatiaNews, as of June 2023, the increase in bill payments for card and cash transactions regarding accommodation in Croatia has increased by 46 per cent – rising from €117 million to €171 million.
In addition, comparing the first five months of 2023 with the corresponding time in 2022, it is noticeable that fiscalised turnover rose from €275 million to €403 million, again reflecting a growth rate of about 46 per cent.
Like the accommodation sector, cafes, restaurants and other hospitality facilities generated more revenues in 2023. More specifically, the turnover in this sector was 30 per cent more than in 2022, when €224 million were generated. The number of bills issued during this period rose by about five per cent.
By the end of May 2023, restaurant owners had received around €1 billion in fiscalised turnovers (€999 million) – 21 per cent more than in 2022. The recorded turnover increase was achieved with an 8.4 per cent increase in the number of bills issued.
Similarly, taxi services and transportation recorded €12.3 million in revenue turnover, up from €9.1 million one month prior.
