Croatia’s tourism industry suffered a noticeable slowdown at the start of the summer, with both arrivals and overnight stays falling in June – and a dramatic decline recorded among visitors from the country’s crucial German market.

New figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) show that commercial accommodation recorded 3 million tourist arrivals and 13.5 million overnight stays in June 2026.

Compared with June last year, arrivals fell by 6.6 percent, while overnight stays dropped by 6.1 percent.

But behind those headline figures is an even more striking development.

German Overnight Stays Plunge 28 Percent

Germany remained Croatia’s biggest foreign tourism market in June, generating an enormous 2.7 million overnight stays.

That represented 22.1 percent of all overnight stays made by foreign visitors.

However, the number was a staggering 28.1 percent lower than in June 2025.

German visitors stayed for an average of 7.7 nights per arrival.

Foreign tourists overall accounted for 91.1 percent of all overnight stays in Croatia during June, recording 2.6 million arrivals and 12.3 million nights.

Foreign arrivals were down 8.9 percent, while their overnight stays fell by 7.5 percent.

Croatians Holidaying at Home Buck the Trend

Domestic tourism, however, moved strongly in the opposite direction.

Croatian tourists recorded 387,000 arrivals and 1.2 million overnight stays in commercial accommodation during June.

That represented increases of 11.8 percent in arrivals and 11.7 percent in overnight stays compared with June last year.

And several important international markets also managed to grow despite the overall decline.

Overnight stays by Italian tourists increased by 5 percent, while Slovenia was up 3.9 percent, Poland 3.2 percent and Czechia 2.4 percent.

British tourists also recorded growth, with overnight stays increasing by 1.2 percent.

Austria, meanwhile, fell by 6 percent.

Istria Still Number One – Despite 10% Drop

Istria remained Croatia’s tourism powerhouse, recording 4.3 million overnight stays, almost a third of all nights spent in the country during June.

But even Croatia’s most popular tourism county wasn’t immune to the slowdown.

Overnight stays in Istria fell by 10 percent compared with June 2025, driven by an 11.1 percent decline among foreign tourists.

Split-Dalmatia County followed with 2.7 million overnight stays, representing 20 percent of Croatia’s total, while Primorje-Gorski Kotar County recorded 2.2 million.

Split-Dalmatia saw a relatively modest decline of 1.7 percent, while overnight stays in Primorje-Gorski Kotar dropped by 7.5 percent.

The figures provide a mixed picture as Croatia moves through the crucial 2026 summer season.

While domestic tourism is growing strongly and several European markets are performing well, the sharp fall from Germany, traditionally the backbone of Croatia’s foreign tourism market, will certainly attract attention across the industry.

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