Croatia’s May tourism in 2026 recorded a total of 2.09 million arrivals and 7.47 million overnight stays, according to data from the Croatian National Tourist Board’s eVisitor system.
The figures confirm that Croatia’s pre-season continued to perform strongly, driven primarily by foreign visitors. During May, the country welcomed 1.75 million international tourist arrivals, 10% more than in May last year, while the number of overnight stays increased by 14%.
Domestic tourists were slightly more cautious. Croatia recorded 339,000 domestic arrivals, down 2% compared with the same month last year, while domestic overnight stays reached 850,000, a decline of 1%.
Overall, Croatia’s May tourism grew by 8 percent compared with the previous year.
More than 14 million overnight stays in the first five months of the year
Between January and May, Croatia recorded 4.45 million arrivals and 14.03 million overnight stays, representing growth of 5.5% in arrivals and 7.1% in overnight stays compared with the same period in 2025.
Although May is still considered part of the shoulder season, it has become increasingly important for Croatian tourism in recent years. Many travellers choose this period because of pleasant temperatures, slightly lower prices and fewer crowds than during the peak summer months.
The data also suggests that Croatia’s tourism growth is increasingly being built outside the peak summer months, as travellers continue to shift towards spring and early autumn travel.
Hotels lead, while campsites see the strongest growth
Most tourist traffic between January and May was generated in commercial accommodation, which accounted for 91% of all overnight stays. Non-commercial accommodation represented around 5%, while nautical tourism accounted for the remaining 4%.
Hotels remained the backbone of Croatian tourism, recording nearly 6 million overnight stays. They were followed by family accommodation with 3.23 million overnight stays and campsites with 2.31 million overnight stays.
Campsites recorded one of the strongest increases, with overnight stays growing by more than 20% compared with the same period last year. Family accommodation also saw growth, while hotels posted steadier and more moderate gains.
The data also highlights the importance of independent travel. As much as 66% of commercial overnight stays were generated outside organised travel arrangements, while organised tourism accounted for 34% of the total.
Germany remains Croatia’s most important market
Germany once again ranked as Croatia’s leading foreign market by a wide margin. German visitors generated 572,655 arrivals and 2.73 million overnight stays, accounting for nearly one in every five overnight stays in Croatia.
The German market was one of the key drivers behind Croatia’s strong pre-season results this year, with arrivals increasing by almost 40 percent and overnight stays rising by nearly 48 percent compared with the same period last year, suggesting that German visitors stayed longer in Croatia than they did a year earlier.
The number of Slovenian tourists also increased, with visitors from Slovenia generating 1.34 million overnight stays, up 5% year on year.
Austria ranked third with 1.15 million overnight stays. Despite the strong figures, Austria was one of the few leading markets to record a slight decline compared with last year.
The United Kingdom remained highly stable, recording around 670,000 overnight stays, almost unchanged from 2025.
The number of visitors from the United States continued to grow as well, rising by more than 9% compared with the previous year.
The leading markets were followed by Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy. Interestingly, Poland, traditionally one of Croatia’s stronger source markets, recorded a noticeable decline, with overnight stays falling by around 10% compared with the same period last year.
Istria continues to lead
Looking at tourism performance by region, Istria remained Croatia’s strongest tourism region. During the first five months of the year, it generated 4.14 million overnight stays, accounting for almost 30% of all overnight stays nationwide.
Split-Dalmatia County ranked second with 2.22 million overnight stays, followed by Kvarner with just over 2.09 million overnight stays.
They were followed by Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Zadar County.
Dubrovnik tops the list of Croatian destinations
Among individual destinations, Dubrovnik recorded the highest number of overnight stays, surpassing one million overnight stays in the January-May period.
It was followed by Zagreb, while Rovinj, Split and Poreč rounded out the top five.
Dubrovnik was also the most successful destination among foreign visitors, while Zagreb remained the favourite destination for domestic tourists.
Zagreb’s strong performance highlights the growing importance of city breaks and business travel outside Croatia’s traditional summer beach destinations.
The shoulder season is no longer a quiet period
This year’s figures highlight several important trends in Croatian tourism. Foreign markets continue to drive growth, independent travel dominates the sector, and the shoulder season is becoming an increasingly important part of the tourism year.
Although May remains considerably quieter than July and August, the figures show that many Croatian destinations are already operating at full pace.
The real test of the tourist season is still to come during the summer months, when pressure on accommodation, transport and infrastructure will be much greater. However, the May figures suggest that Croatia entered 2026 with strong momentum and continued international demand.
