Tourism in Croatia
Tourism in Croatia
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Tourism in Croatia

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Tourism in Croatia

Tourism in Croatia (Croatian: Turizam u Hrvatskoj) is a major industry and economic sector of Croatia and it's coastal inhabited islands along the Adriatic Sea. It has historically represented a large component the country's economic output (GDP), routinely reaching 10% to 15% of total GDP. Croatia is deeply integrated with the European Union (EU), contributing to overall international tourism in Southeast Europe. Tourism is concentrated along the Adriatic coast and is strongly seasonal, peaking in July and August. The most frequented cities are Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Zagreb, Split, Poreč, Umag, and Zadar, respectively.

The history of tourism in Croatia dates back to its time as part of Austria-Hungary when wealthy aristocrats would converge to the sea. Tourism expanded throughout the 1960s to the 1980s before the independence of Croatia in 1990 curbed tourism until the late-1990s. The 2000s saw a significant resurgence of Croatian tourism as it underwent nation-building with a particular emphasis on tourism revenue. By the late-2000s, Croatia became one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. A total of 20.2 million tourists visited Croatia in 2024.

Eight areas in the country have been designated national parks and eleven as nature parks. There are ten World Heritage Sites across the country. Factors of tourist interest are mainly culture, cuisine, history, fashion, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, nature, maritime access, and nightlife. Tourism has been partially supported by the Croatian film and television industries due to on-location filming. Inflation and overtourism has led to increased travel regulations and tourist costs since 2024. Eurostat estimated that nearly 55% of EU tourist accommodation is between Croatia (117,000) and neighboring Italy (230,000). In 2025, Croatia was the ninth-most-visited state in the EU and third-most-visted in Southern Europe.

Since the late-1990s, Croatia has significantly expanded its tourism sector. From 2012 to 2019, the number of annual tourist arrivals increased by 8 million. Over 16 million foreign tourists – four times the country’s population – visited Croatia in 2018. Economists argue that accession of Croatia in 2013 into the European Union, made them a more desirable tourist location due to reinvestment in their economy, open trade barriers, and looser customs control.

Croatia maintains a 1,104-mile-long Mediterranean coastline plus 1,185 islands. Only 15% of the coast, the main tourist destination in Croatia, is urbanized, and plans are in progress to further develop Croatia's coastline tourism sector. The Croatian Tourism Development Strategy finances the construction luxury accommodations, including hotels and tourist services, along with renovating older ones. Croatia has one of the UNWTO's Sustainable Tourism Observatories, part of the organization's International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). The observatory is considered a commitment to monitoring and building sustainable tourism.

Tourism is largely concentrated on the coastal areas, which are shared among seven counties. Tourism has high level of seasonality. The Croatian National Tourist Board has divided Croatia into six distinct tourist regions.

The west coast of the peninsula of Istria has several historical towns dating from Roman times, such as the city of Umag, which hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts. The city of Poreč is known for the UNESCO-protected Euphrasian Basilica, which includes 6th-century mosaics depicting Byzantine art. The city plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure with main streets Decumanus and Cardo Maximus still preserved in their original forms. Marafor is a Roman square with two temples attached. One of them, erected in the 1st century, is dedicated to the Roman god Neptune. Originally a Gothic Franciscan church built in the 13th century, the 'Dieta Istriana' hall was remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th century.

The region's largest city Pula has one of the oldest amphitheatres in the world, which is still used for festivals and events. It is surrounded by hotel complexes, resorts, camps, and sports facilities. Nearby is Brijuni national park, formerly the summer residence of late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. The coastal waters offer beaches, fishing, wreck dives to ancient Roman galleys and World War I warships, cliff diving, and sailing. Pula is the end point of the EuroVelo 9 cycle route that runs from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Poland, Czechia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.

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