Tourist Season 2023 - Opinions and Experiences of Our Travellers

Year after year, Croatia positions itself as a top tourist destination in the world. Just like last year, we conducted thorough research this year to find out exactly what attracts visitors to Croatia, which places are the most popular ones, and what can we expect in the upcoming season.

We invited more than 500,000 passengers who used our GetByFerry.com and GetByBus.com platforms to participate in the survey.

In our last year's research, we forecast a record tourist season in 2023.

Were we right?

According to official data, Croatia had almost 18 million visitors by November 2023. In the same period, almost 100 million overnight stays were realised. This shows that our predictions were right.

In the following, we present what has changed in the offer of Croatian tourism compared to the results of last year's survey. How has our country's tourist offer improved, and where has it failed?

How Did We Conduct the Research?

The research was conducted in the same way as last year. We stuck to similar premises in order to make our conclusions significant. This year, more than a million passengers used the services of our GetByFerry.com and GetByBus.com platforms. About 20,000 travelers were invited to fill out a survey on satisfaction with their stay in Croatia, and 80% of them responded.

Travelers first answered general questions such as method of arrival, how many nights they stayed and what was the reason for their visit. Then, they could choose the cities and towns they visited, and rate them in categories such as general satisfaction, gastronomic, cultural, entertainment and other aspects. In addition to cities, travelers also rated national parks, i.e. their natural beauty, ticket prices, maintenance and other aspects.

In the following text, we present what has changed from last to this tourist season, as well as data visualization through a graphic display.

As many as 90% of visitors plan to return to Croatia, and all of them recommend it to their friends

Let's start with the general experiences and level of satisfaction of visitors to Croatia.

We are delighted to announce that the positive trend continues. As many as 90% of visitors declared that they intend to return to Croatia, which is 1 whole percentage point more, compared to last year's survey, where this figure was 89%.

In addition to the fact that travelers return to Croatia, they wholeheartedly recommend it! This year, as many as 96% of visitors say that they would recommend Croatia to their friends, which is an increase of 5 percentage points compared to last year, when that percentage was 91%.

More than 50% of visitors stay in Croatia for at least a week

We were interested in how long our visitors stay in Croatia on average. The results showed that we are a country where you can't have "too much of a good thing".

Namely, the results showed that 41% of guests stay in Croatia for up to 7 days, while as many as 59% choose to spend a week or more. Moreover, out of the total number of visitors who stayed longer in Croatia, as many as 30% stayed for 2 weeks or longer.

One third of visitors in Croatia are young people

As many as 31% of visitors to Croatia belong between the ages of 18 to 34 years old. Croatia has been recognized as a party destination for some time now, so these figures do not surprise us.

What is surprising is the demographic picture of our passengers, which has changed somewhat compared to last year. According to our research, the smallest number of visitors belongs to the age group 18-24 and 65+, while last year it was the age groups 35-44 and 65+.

In addition, the percentage of passengers in the age group 25-34 decreased, which this year accounted for 18% of visitors, while last year it was 27%.

There can be many reasons for this, and one of them could certainly be the high inflation rate since the introduction of the euro. On the other hand, the age group that visited us the most this year was that in the 45-64 age range, with as many as 41% of visitors. Last year, the percentage for that same age group was 37%. Whether the reason for this is greater purchasing power or something else, it would be worth investigating.

Most visitors explore the beauties of Croatia - alone

Croatia is still extremely popular among solo travelers. Specifically, as many as 30% of visitors stated that they traveled to Croatia alone, which is almost the same result as last year.

However, when we talk about who the travelers visited Croatia with, the picture has changed slightly. Partners and family are still the leading companions of our passengers, and this year their representation jumped to 52%.

On the other hand, the number of tourists who visited us in the company of friends decreased somewhat. This year, that percentage totaled 16%, while last year it was 22%.

Nevertheless, we could say that there is a correlation between the age of the traveler and the choice of companion. More precisely, younger travelers will more often travel with friends, while those who are slightly older will prefer to spend their vacation with their partner or family.

Rest and relaxation are still the main reasons for visiting Croatia

Almost a third of travelers answered that they decided to visit Croatia for rest and relaxation. Although it is still the most common reason, this percentage decreased by 13 percentage points compared to last year. However, if we add sightseeing, entertainment and culture to that figure, which are the next most common reasons for the arrival of travelers, we can also conclude that over 80% of visitors choose Croatia for a relaxing summer vacation.

Other, less common reasons account for around 20%, and this includes family, sports, business, health and other reasons for visiting.

Therefore, it seems that visitors continue to choose Croatia as a destination for pleasure, and what exactly our visitors enjoy the most is presented below.

What delighted visitors the most in Croatia - Top 5 most visited cities

Among the many cities and islands that travelers visited this summer, 5 cities stood out the most. Namely, the most visited was Split, followed by Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Zadar, and finally the town of Hvar. Each of them is unique, and so is their offer.

Visitors evaluated the cities in various categories such as general satisfaction, gastronomic, cultural, entertainment and other tourist offers, and below we reveal who won the title of champion for which category.

Tourist season in Zagreb - a city with an excellent price-quality ratio of accommodation

We all know that Zagreb is a popular tourist destination not only because of its interesting attractions, but also because of various events, concerts and exhibitions. However, visitors in Zagreb were most satisfied with their accommodation.

Zagreb received the highest marks for the quality of accommodation, but it far surpasses the other cities in terms of satisfaction with the price of the accommodation itself.

As for the ratio of quality and price of accommodation, it is followed by Hvar, Zadar and Dubrovnik. In the last place is the city of Split.

Tourist season in Split - a destination where you can spend your entire vacation

In the 2023 season, Split proved to be a city worth spending the entire vacation in. Almost half of the visitors decided to spend between 1 and 2 weeks there. It seems that Diocletian did not build his summer residence there without reason.

For many years, Split was mainly a transitional city. However, tourists have since recognized its value, and the numbers confirm it. Whether the reason for this is its cultural heritage, beautiful beaches or excellent connection with the islands, it is difficult to say.

Apart from Split, another place really stood out in terms of the length of stay of visitors - the town of Hvar. Namely, out of the total number of visitors to the island of Hvar, as many as 40% of them stayed in Hvar for longer than 2 weeks.

Tourist season in Dubrovnik - a city with a unique cultural heritage

Although Croatia is full of attractions that have been delighting our visitors for many years, Dubrovnik proved to be the absolute champion in this category. And no, the reason for this is not the shooting locations of the popular series Game of Thrones. Visitors' ratings show us that Dubrovnik has greatly improved its offer.

In addition to attractions, activities in Dubrovnik also received the best ratings.

In the category of attractions, according to ratings, Split, Zadar, Hvar and Zagreb follow. On the other hand, in the activity category, Dubrovnik is followed by Zadar, Split and Zagreb, and finally the town of Hvar.

Transportation options in Dubrovnik also received an extremely high rating, which is not surprising given the huge choice of local and intercity transportation, as well as the availability of ferry lines that connect Dubrovnik with the islands, such as catamarans from Dubrovnik to Hvar and catamarans from Dubrovnik to Korcula.

Tourist season in Zadar - visitors delighted with the choice and prices of restaurants

Last year, more than 50% of the respondents did not express their opinion regarding the gastronomic offer in Croatia. This year, as we can see, the situation has changed considerably.

In the 2023 season, the best food was in - Zadar! In addition to the excellent choice of restaurants, visitors were also extremely satisfied with the prices. Last year, the category of gastronomic offer was dominated by Istria, while in 2023 the people of Zadar successfully surpassed Istrian fugues, truffles and malvasia.

Zagreb has also improved its offer compared to last year and thus found itself in second place, followed by Hvar and Split. Dubrovnik is in last place, as it was last year.

Tourist season in Hvar - the island with the wildest parties

In recent years, Croatia has been recognized as a party destination, but in the sea of unforgettable parties, one and only one stands out the most - Hvar. With the general criteria for good entertainment increasing year after year, it seems that our sunniest island continues to delight visitors with its offer of nightlife, entertainment and other events.

Nightlife and entertainment are also highly rated in Split, Zadar, Dubrovnik and Zagreb.

As for other cultural events, after Hvar, the cities that received the highest ratings are Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Zadar and Split.

Did the quality of services accompany the price increase in the 2023 season?

The 2023 season is the first in which we did not use kuna as currency. With the introduction of the euro, prices in Croatia have also increased, so the question arises - has the quality of the services we offer also increased?

As for the most visited cities, Zagreb proved to be the city with the best ratio of price and quality of accommodation, and Zadar delighted visitors with its choice of restaurants and food prices. In addition to the most visited cities, several smaller towns stood out with their offer.

Regarding accommodation, Malinska, Baška and Murter received the highest marks for the quality of accommodation. Moreover, Malinska is equally rated for the price of accommodation! Baška and Murter also received high marks with 90% and 87% of satisfied visitors.

In the category of restaurants and their prices, Baška and Poreč met visitors' expectations the most. They received high ratings for both the offer and prices in restaurants.

On the other hand, at the bottom of the list was Ston, where only about 60% of respondents said they were satisfied with the prices in restaurants, and about 70% were satisfied with the choice of restaurants.

The accommodation offer was rated lowest in Stari Grad on Hvar and in Skradin.

Why Korčula and Rab are the islands where visitors prefer to stay

An impressive 95% of visitors to Rab were satisfied with the transportation options, which is by far the best result compared to other islands. In addition, the beaches on the island of Rab delighted 90% of visitors. Apart from Rab, Pag and Lošinj achieved equally good results in this category.

As for the cleanliness and friendliness of the locals on Rab, as many as 93% of visitors were satisfied.

Korčula, on the other hand, achieved a slightly lower score in these categories, i.e. 81% for transportation options, 87% for beaches, 92% for cleanliness and 90% for the friendliness of locals. But certainly, very impressive.

We can say that Hvar is our sunniest island with a prominent nightlife, Brač is home to the most famous beach on the Croatian Adriatic (Zlatni rat), while Vis is adorned with the most famous bay - Stiniva beach bay.

Also, all the islands are relatively easy to reach by ferry lines from Split, such as Split-Hvar, Split-Bol and Split-Vis.

However, the recipe for a successful season consists of a combination of beautiful and clean beaches, good transport connections and indispensable kindness, as the cherry on top.

Are the beaches better on the islands or along the coast?

It is well known that Croatia is an excellent destination for summer holidays. The Adriatic jewels of the Croatian coast have been adorning the pages of world magazines for years thanks to their natural beauty. However, we were interested in which beaches our visitors prefer, those on the coast or on the islands.

In addition to beauty, we also asked visitors about the cleanliness of the beaches, the range of activities and facilities, and accessibility.

In the end, the visitors chose - the beaches on the islands are better! And the best rated are those on the island of Krk, with Malinska and Baška at the very top. They are followed by the beaches of Rab and Lošinj, Brač and Korčula.

Whether the secret is in the beauty or the peace they provide, it is hard to say. But the research confirmed that the beaches on the islands are definitely cleaner. Apart from the fact that their beaches are generally rated better, the overall cleanliness of the islands is rated higher than the cleanliness of the cities.

Where are the best parties, and where are the most interesting attractions?

Having a good time and seeing interesting attractions are extremely important to travelers visiting our country. We asked visitors for their opinion on nightlife and entertainment, events, sights and activities.

The results showed us that visitors had the best time in Novalja and Vodice. As many as 89% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the entertainment options in Novalja, and 86% in Vodice.

The most interesting attractions and activities for our visitors are in Dubrovnik, with 88% of satisfied respondents, while Split is not far behind with 87% of them.

How did visitors get around the cities they visited?

Our cities are relatively small, and most attractions are located in the center. Traffic jams are inevitable in the summer, and finding a parking space is an impossible mission. We could say that it is expected that visitors will not often rely on a personal car when sightseeing.

Almost half of the respondents answered that they toured our cities on foot, while a quarter of them said that they used public transport. In addition, 13% of visitors used a taxi, namely Uber or Bolt.

Those who armed themselves with patience chose a car for getting around the cities, and there were 9% of them. The remaining 4% of visitors said that they mainly used bicycles or scooters.

As for the transportation options offered by the cities, Omiš met most of the visitors' expectations. It does not surprise us that the good old bus line no. 60 on the Split-Omiš route has proven to be an extremely favorable and frequent option for tourists.

Next on the list of the best transportation options is Zagreb, which is not surprising given the availability of numerous tram and bus routes around the city, as well as intercity lines that are mostly connected to Split, Plitvice, Pula.

According to the ratings in that category, it is followed by Biograd na Moru, Krk and Pula.

On the other hand, Baška Voda and Stari Grad on the island of Hvar received the lowest ratings.

More than 96% of visitors consider Croatia an above-average safe country

As a small country with relatively small cities compared to European metropolises, Croatia is a relatively safe country. According to the results of our research, it seems that our visitors feel more and more safe when they come to us on vacation.

Namely, as many as 96% of visitors rated Croatia with a perfect five, which is 13 percentage points more than last year, when 83% of them rated Croatia as extremely safe.

However, a few cities stood out in particular, namely Primošten, Rovinj and Krk.

Given that last year this title was held by the cities of Opatija, Stari Grad and Rovinj, it can be concluded that visitors feel somewhat safer in smaller cities in Croatia.

Unkindness of locals - truth or myth?

The friendliness of the staff and locals is something that can enrich or completely ruin a perfect vacation. That's why this year we decided to check how Croatia stands with the kindness of the local population.

What followed was a pleasant surprise with as many as 94% of respondents rating the friendliness of Croats as excellent!

And who was the kindest?

Although our guests felt extremely welcome in all cities, the people from Istra stood out as the friendliest locals. Namely, Rovinj, Pula and Poreč absolutely delighted our visitors with their hospitality, thus ensuring Istria the title of host of the year.

The cities that our respondents stayed in generally received very high marks, so it is worth mentioning some of them that were right behind the Istranians, namely Omiš, Makarska and Primošten.

National parks continue to attract visitors with their beauty

National parks may not be such a popular summer destination, but they are certainly one of the most beautiful choices for spending a day in nature. Of the total number of visitors to Croatia, 42% of respondents declared that they also visited some of our national parks. Last year, 39% of them visited national parks, which also indicates a positive trend in visiting the natural beauties of Croatia.

Visitors evaluated the parks in 5 categories: crowds, ticket prices, facilities inside the park, cleanliness and natural beauty. Visitors also rated their overall satisfaction with the park they visited.

Among the categories offered, ticket prices received the lowest rating, followed by crowds. On the other hand, visitors were most impressed by the natural beauty, and the cleanliness category received the second highest rating.

The most visited national park was, as expected, Plitvice Lakes. In addition, it received the highest rating for overall satisfaction and thus took first place. Brijuni is in second place, and Krka and Paklenica share the third place.

Natural beauty of the Plitvice Lakes is still unsurpassed

As we previously mentioned, Plitvička Jezera National Park was the most visited national park in the 2023 season, and it also received the highest rating for overall satisfaction.

The Plitvice Lakes is known as a fairytale place full of nature that leaves everyone breathless. That is exactly why we were not at all surprised that the visitors were most delighted by its natural beauty. In addition, the cleanliness of the park was rated excellent, and in that category it took a high second place.

What the visitors didn't like so much were, of course, the crowds that put Plitvice Lakes in last place in that category.

Natural beauty of our national parks justifies the price of tickets

Visitors rated the "natural beauty" category the best, while "ticket prices" ranked second to last. However, if we take a closer look at the price-quality ratio, it seems that visiting the national parks is worth it.

Only 3 parks have a slightly worse rated ratio of natural beauty to ticket prices, namely Krka, Kornati and Mljet. However, visitors generally feel that the prices are not too high.

For example, as many as 77% of visitors said they were satisfied with the ticket prices in NP Krka, which is the lowest rated park in terms of ratio, while as many as 97% of visitors were satisfied with the natural beauty.

On the other hand, Paklenica has the best ratio with as many as 97% of visitors satisfied with the ticket price, and almost all visitors were satisfied with the natural beauty.

So, we can conclude that the natural beauty of our national parks justifies the price of tickets. In case someone does not agree with that, they can contribute to smaller crowds and thus ensure us a higher rating for that category next year. :)

Conclusion

Croatia continues to break its own records in terms of the quality of tourist facilities. Year after year, it delights its visitors with its natural beauty, delicacies from all over the country, hospitality and general cleanliness of both accommodation and destinations, such as national parks.

What will the year 2024 bring us? Only time will tell.