317,000 Tourist Arrivals in January, Most Foreign Visitors from Croatia

In total, accommodation providers welcomed 317,000 tourists and recorded just over 870,000 overnight stays, representing an increase of eight percent in arrivals and 11 % in overnight stays compared with the same month last year. Ljubljana attracted the largest number of visitors, while among international guests the strongest presence came from Croatia.

Domestic tourists accounted for 99,000 arrivals, 4 % more than in January last year, and generated 293,000 overnight stays, an increase of 6 %. They contributed one third of all overnight stays. Domestic guests most frequently stayed in the municipalities of Kranjska Gora, Piran and Zreče, with an average stay of three nights. The longest stays were recorded in Zreče, where visitors spent an average of four nights.

Foreign tourists accounted for nearly 218,000 arrivals, 10 % more than a year earlier, and generated just over 577,000 overnight stays, an increase of 13 %. They represented 2/3 of all overnight stays in January. International visitors most often stayed in Ljubljana, followed by Kranjska Gora, Maribor and Bled, which together accounted for almost half of all foreign overnight stays. The average stay of international guests was 2.6 nights.

The largest number of overnight stays among foreign visitors was recorded by tourists from Croatia, with 164,000 overnight stays, accounting for 29 % of all foreign overnight stays and representing a 36% increase compared with January last year. They most frequently stayed in Kranjska Gora, Brežice and Zreče. Italian tourists followed with 97,000 overnight stays, accounting for 17 % of all foreign overnight stays, most commonly in Ljubljana, Piran and Brežice. Other key markets included Serbia, Austria, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

By type of municipality, almost 2/3 of all overnight stays were generated in mountain and spa destinations. Mountain municipalities recorded nearly 271,000 overnight stays, an increase of 14 % compared with last year, while spa municipalities recorded just under 265,000 overnight stays, up by 10 %. Kranjska Gora was the most visited mountain destination, while Brežice ranked as the most popular spa destination. Ljubljana recorded just over 135,000 overnight stays, representing 16 % of the total, with foreign visitors accounting for 93 % of these stays.

More than half of all overnight stays were recorded in hotels, accounting for 57 % or approximately 495,000 overnight stays, ten % more than a year earlier. Tourists had access to just over 137,000 permanent beds, while the net occupancy rate of hotels reached 41 %.

According to experimental statistics from the Daily Tourist Pulse of Slovenia, the highest number of arrivals was recorded on Friday, 2 January, when just over 30,000 guests checked into accommodation establishments. Of these, 88 % were international visitors, most of them from Italy and Croatia. The most visited municipalities on that day were Ljubljana, Piran and Kranjska Gora.

Source: STA and stat.si
Photo: Tomo Jeseničnik / Slovenian Tourist Board archive

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