The Croatia National Tourist Board has released its 2015 tourism data, revealing it received 14.9 million arrivals last year, an 8.5 per cent increase on 2014.

There were 80 million over-night stay, an increase of 6.9 per cent on the previous year.

The figures also revealed its increasing popularity among UK holidaymakers, with UK arrivals increasing 13 per cent in 2015, to 500,822 and overnight stays increased 12.5 per cent to 2,599,142.

When it comes to the most popular Croatian coastal regions in 2015, Dalmatia achieved the largest share of tourists, with 6.5 million arrivals (7.31 per cent growth) and 37.8 million overnight stays (6.65 per cent growth).

In Istria, there were 3.6 million arrivals (8.72 per cent growth) and 23.6 million over-night stays (5.95 per cent growth).

Kvarner achieved 2.5 million arrivals (8.58% per cent growth) and 13.2 million overnight stays (7.82 per cent growth). 

With its national parks, such as the iconic Plitvice Lakes National Park which features 16 lakes and 129 bird species, it is no wonder that Croatia’s inland scenery attracts thousands of visitors.

The area received 230,000 arrivals last year (16.37 per cent increase) and 375,000 overnight stays (18.04 per cent increase).
Zagreb, the Croatian capital, received one million arrivals (11.9 per cent increase compared to last year) and 1.8 million overnight stays (12.63 per cent increase).

More recently Zadar beat off competition from the likes of Paris and Rome to be named best European destination 2016.

Ivona Grgan, spokesperson for the Croatian National Tourist Board, commented: “We look forward to welcoming more Brits to Croatia in 2016 than ever before - there’s certainly something to suit all traveller tastes, whether it’s exploring local culture in Dubrovnik, island hopping off the coast of Split, truffle hunting in Istria or trying adventure sports in one of our many national parks.