Over half (61%) of UK travellers are considering Croatia as a travel destination, a new TripAdvisor poll has revealed in the week that Croatia becomes the European Union’s 28th member state.

The poll of 4,000 British travellers follows a 14% surge in the number of UK searches for Croatian holidays on TripAdvisor in the last twelve months.

However, it remains unclear as to whether Croatia’s entry into the EU will encourage more British holidaygoers to opt for the Balkan state in future. Less than one in ten (7%) polled said that Croatia’s new EU status made them more interested in visiting the country, while just under one in six (16%) admitted that Croatia’s EU membership had actually made them less interested in travelling there.

“Croatia is one of the best value destinations in Europe, which is one of the reasons it is proving so popular with British holidaymakers. Whether the country’s new status in the EU will spur or slow that growth in tourism remains to be seen,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, James Kay.

Croatia’s capital offers value for travellers against majority of other EU capital cities

When comparing the cost of an overnight stay in each of the EU’s 28 capital cities, Zagreb currently ranks as the eighth cheapest, with the average price of a 4* hotel room coming in at £91.03 – less than half the price of an equivalent stay in London.

In the first two months of Croatia’s entry into the EU, based on the average room rates for that period, Zagreb will drop to tenth in the rankings – but will still be considerably cheaper than other popular tourist destinations, such as Rome, Amsterdam and Paris.