Tourism in Croatia provoked an increase in COVID-19 diseases

In Croatia, at the end of August, there was a record number of cases of daily infection with coronavirus infection.

For several months, the country recorded fewer than 100 cases of COVID-19 infection per day, and by mid-May, there were almost no cases.

Croatia, with a population of 4.2 million people, visited by almost 20 million tourists in 2019, did not impose strict quarantine measures in the first months of the pandemic.

However, the situation began to change at the end of May after the borders were opened to foreign tourists, mainly from Western Europe.

In recent days, more than 200 cases of COVID-19 infection have been registered daily in Croatia, and the record was 358 cases on August 26. To date, COVID-19 has infected more than 8.800 people in the country, and 175 have died.

About a third of new infections are registered on the Adriatic coast. However, the Croatian authorities say that the situation is under control and that strict quarantine measures are not yet required. It is clear that this is primarily due to the desire to avoid a complete failure of the tourist season, despite the fact that the drop in revenue is already projected at 70 %. In July, Croatia was visited by two million tourists, which is about half as much as in the same month of 2019.

In recent days, Britain and Germany have imposed quarantines and other precautionary measures for their citizens returning from parts of the Croatian Adriatic coast.

In turn, Italy has obliged its citizens to pass the COVID-19 test on their return home.

Tourism accounts for about 20 % of Croatia's GDP.