The number of tourists visiting Croatia in March fell 75 percent to just 118,200 people compared to 2019, while the number of overnight stays dropped 53 percent. The numbers were the first results to conclusively show what all hotel and tourist industry companies in the country already knew: that the coronavirus crisis is decimating the sector. The results prompted the country’s tourism board director Kristijan Stanicic to let it be known that his organization was in daily communications with tourism offices around the world to ensure that Croatia maintains its presence on the market. He said much would depend on the outcome of the fight against the pandemic both at home and abroad, but that the Croatian Tourism Board would be making changes to its work program and financial plans for 2020. For the moment, however, he said it’s too soon to make predictions on how badly the high season between July and September would be. But he stressed that once the appropriate levels of safety are ensured, the board would be working intensively to position Croatia as a safe tourist destination, targeting countries with road access to the country in particular.
