Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union on 1st July and has just announced a 31% increase in Irish visitors for the first six months of 2013, compared to the same period last year. The country attracted 11.8 million visitors who used 62 million bed nights in 2012.
Air access from Ireland is good with Aer Lingus operating five flights per week from Dublin to Dubrovnik, while Ryanair has two flights a week to Zadar. There were 30,463 Irish visitors in 2012.
Darko Lorencin, Croatia Minister for Tourism, said that one of his objectives is to grow the number of Irish visitors to his country, as well as increasing the 4-star hotel stock. By 2020 he wants Croatia to be the most competitive holiday destination in all of Europe.
Croatia attracts a diverse range of tourists, with over 1,244 islands strung together along the stunning Adriatic coast.
“With eight national parks, seven UNESCO sites and 13 treasures on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, Croatia is a special stunning natural landscape with an absorbing and rich culture,” said Tonko Rilovic, Director for the UK and Ireland of the Croatian National Tourist Office.
