Tourism Minister says initial results are off due to global chaos

According to the latest data from the tourism sector, Croatia has seen almost identical tourist arrivals and overnight stays in the first six months of the year, with 7.6 million arrivals and 25.5 million overnight stays.

Presenting the latest data from the tourism sector, a vital component of the Croatian economy, Tourism Minister Tonči Glavina noted that while the first six months of the year are all but identical in terms of tourist arrivals and overnight stays, numbers regarding tourist arrivals and overnight stays for the month of June are down by seven and six percent respectively when compared to June of 2025.

The data was jointly presented on Wednesday by Tourism Minister Glavina and the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić. Both men emphasized that this is an extremely difficult year due to the chaotic geopolitical situation. They also said that they are satisfied with the results achieved, but added that the true state of this tourist season will be seen in July and August.

"Unfortunately, this is not a normal year and we literally have to adapt from month to month to circumstances that are not in our favor. However, I believe that when we compare our results with our direct competitors at the end of the year, we will probably all see similar trends. Obviously, I would like this to show that as a country we are still a little better than the average and that we reacted a little better," noted Minister Glavina.

"The first six months should be viewed as a whole due to the different schedule of holidays and school holidays and due to some tendencies and trends in the tourism market when we talk globally and travel trends, and we expected that June this year would be slightly worse than last year due to the schedule. It should be noted, for example, that this year, part of the arrivals from the German market were in the fifth and part in the sixth month because that is how the holidays and their school holidays fell, which is different compared to last year," added director Staničić.

Another aspect that likely also played a role in the diminished numbers in June is the ongoing World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Source: HRT