Although there were 224 more cruise trips than in 2021, when comparing the 2022 figures to those from the pre-pandemic 2019, the number of journeys made by foreign cruise ships decreased by 13%.
Last year, nearly 634,000 passengers arrived in Croatia on board cruise ships and stayed in the country for 1,324 days.
In 2022, foreign cruise ships sailed in the Croatian Adriatic every single month, which is an improvement compared to 2021, when the first foreign cruise ship arrived in June, the statistical office said, recalling that in 2020 and 2021 the COVID-19 pandemic, stricter epidemiological measures limited foreign cruise ships journeys.
Foreign cruise ships in Croatia sailed under the flags of 15 countries. The largest number of foreign cruise ship journeys was realised under the flag of The Bahamas, as many as 163 journeys. Cruise ships sailing under the flag of Malta follow with 146 journeys, Italy (75 journeys) and Panama (65 journeys).
Most of the cruise ship trips, as was the case in previous years, were made in Dubrovnik-Neretva County (44.0%), followed by Split-Dalmatia County (32.4%), Zadar County (12.5%), Istria County (4.7%), Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (3.5%) and Šibenik-Knin County (3%).
Dubrovnik was the most visited seaport, followed by Split, Zadar, Hvar, Korčula , Rovinj and Šibenik.