July 8 (SeeNews) - Foreign tourist arrivals to Croatia reached 275,000 in May, up by 243,000 compared to May last year, as travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus were softened, but remain far below the 2019 level, the statistical office said on Thursday.
Compared to the pre-pandemic levels of May 2019, foreign tourists arrivals were 80% lower and overnights plunged 73% in May 2021.
The number of domestic tourists reached 132,000 in May, up by 102,000 compared with May 2020, while the number of overnights by domestic tourists rose to 308,000, up by 242,000. Compared to May 2019, domestic tourist arrivals dropped 39% and overnights were 37% lower in May.
The reason for the significantly higher number of tourist arrivals and overnights is that, despite the existing epidemiological measures and recommendations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, in May tourists travelled safer and more freely than a year earlier when travel restrictions were stricter both in Croatia and in the world, the statistical office said.
In 2020, foreign tourist arrivals to the Adriatic country dropped 68% year-on-year 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.