November 9 (SeeNews) - Foreign tourist arrivals to Croatia reached 1.6 million in September, which is an increase of 1.2 million compared to September last year but below the pre-pandemic 2019 level, the statistical office said on Tuesday.
The number of overnights spent by foreign tourist in Croatia rose by 253.5% on the year in September, reaching 9.6 million, the statistical office said in a statement.
Foreign tourist arrivals in September this year amounted to 78.5% of the arrivals registered in September 2019, whereas overnights stood at 97.4% of the pre-pandemic numbers, it added.
The number of domestic tourists rose 46.1% on the year to 195,000 in September, while number of overnights by domestic tourists increased 43.2% on the year to 586,000.
In 2020, foreign tourist arrivals to the Adriatic country dropped 68% to 5.55 million due to the coronavirus crisis.
Tourism is a key industry for the Croatian economy, contributing a fifth of the country's GDP.