United is set to expand its presence in Croatia next month with the launch of seasonal flights between Newark and Split, complementing its existing services to Dubrovnik. Based on indirect traffic flows, Zadar’s busiest unserved market in the United States is New York, followed by Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Boston.

United recently noted, “Demand for travel to Croatia continues to grow among US leisure travellers. We’ve really established ourselves as a leader by launching flights to bold, trendsetting destinations”. Highlighting the importance of its transatlantic joint venture with Lufthansa on routes from its US hubs to Frankfurt and Munich, United added, “What we find is that our travellers prefer nonstop flights over connecting services. With more aircraft joining our fleet, we’re able to add an increasing number of unique destinations”.

The Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board’s North America Office, Leila Krešić-Jurić, said, “The US market unquestionably remains our most promising long-haul market, particularly in the premium and luxury segments, which makes the growing number of major investments in Croatia’s high-end tourism offer all the more encouraging. These range from American brands such as Hyatt Regency and Curio by Hilton to the Materra wellness hotel near Osijek, while we are especially eager to see the upcoming investments announced by domestic groups like Maistra and Valamar”.

The US is Croatia’s largest long-haul market and generates the highest volume of visitor traffic from distant regions. In 2025, Croatia recorded 850.000 arrivals and 2.4 million overnight stays by American tourists, marking a year-on-year increase of 9% in arrivals and 10% in overnight stays compared to 2024.