Up until a month ago, bookings coming from the German emitting market for Croatia were excellent, even better than in the pre-pandemic year 2019, according to Poslovni.hr.
What the rest of the season will be like is uncertain as the entire European market is currently in a state of shock due to the raging war in Ukraine, and there is a slowdown in bookings. The ITB Berlin fair is being held in virtual form this week for the third year in a row due to the pandemic and Romeo Draghicchio, the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB) in Germany, emphasizes that it luckily hasn’t had a significant impact on consumer habits. However, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, many programs for Russia and Ukraine have been cancelled, and cruises aimed at St. Petersburg diverted to other ports.
“When we talk about Croatia, until the outbreak of the conflict, booking was at a higher level for our country, even since the 2019 season, which was a great sign,” he said, commenting on the recently published research ‘Reiseanalyse’ of the FUR Institute for 2021.
“According to the research, Croatia climbed to the high fourth place of the top foreign destinations of the Germans,” pointing out Croatia was the only destination in 2021 that increased its market share compared to 2019.