Nautical sector and sailing in Croatia achieved 60% results according to 2019
The latest numbers show that the end of this summer might be the best time to sail in Croatia. It is well known that staying on a boat and sailing at the time of the coronavirus pandemic is one of the safest and easiest ways to keep physical distance so it is only logical that the nautical tourism in Croatia has seen better business results than hotels, private rental business, camping or even a holiday villa rental business.
The increasing number of infected people in the European countries, including Croatia even though with mostly mild symptoms, has led to the introduction of restrictions regarding travelling. Italy, Austria, Slovenia and partly Germany, the biggest emissive market for Croatian tourism, have introduced various measures for travelers who are returning from Croatia and some other Mediterranean countries.
The measures mostly refer to mandatory coronavirus testing and self-isolation or a recommendation regarding travelling to specific countries or regions. Consequently, the measures have caused massive departures so that some Adriatic regions, Opatija for example, has seen a sudden decline of up to 70% in the number of Italian, Austrian, Slovenian or German tourists.
Obviously, it has not been the case with nautical sector. All of us who have been sailing the Croatian Adriatic in the past days, have witnessed a large number of boats at sea, on the waterfronts, anchorages or marinas. This can be supported by the official numbers for charter business provided by the Ministry of the Sea. According to the crew lists, last week, including Saturday, August 22, after the measures from the mentioned countries had been issued, 15.300 foreign and 2.200 domestic sailors embarked on boats. It is about 4.000 or 20% sailors less than the week before, but still, the decrease is at least three times less than in other forms of tourism.
In total, when it comes to nautical sector and sailing, the results show about 60% of last year’s numbers and that is the unprecedented result of the Mediterranean.
If we add that the number of new cases in Croatia is slowing down in the last couple of days, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful and optimistic. And we all know that the nautical season lasts by the end of October and that two most beautiful months for sailing in Croatia are still ahead of us.
