The number of foreign guests in the first half of this year accounted for 78 percent, i.e. 2.31 million, which was a five-percent rise in comparison to the first half of 2004, the Central Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Thursday.
The overnight stays of foreign tourists rose by two percent to 9.65 million which made up 84.5 percent of all the overnight stays.
The number of domestic tourists was the same as in the same period last year, namely some 656,000, with a two-percent fall in their overnight stays (1.77 million).
With regard the structure of foreign holiday-makers, Germans remained the first with 467,600 arrivals and 2.69 million overnight stays. However, there was a drop of 12 percent in the number of Germans visiting Croatia in the first half of 2005 in comparison to the corresponding period in 2004.
According to the number of arrivals, Italians were second. The number of Italians visiting Croatia in the said period rose by three percent to 285,000. Their overnight stays rose by five percent to 838,600 which put them in the fourth place according to overnight stays.
Austrians were third according to arrivals (249,900) and second according to 1.01 million overnight stays.
Interestingly, the number of French tourists arriving in Croatia climbed by 69 percent to 212,800 and their overnight stays also climbed by 69 percent to 617,500.