Tourist Attitudes and Expenditure in Croatia – TOMAS Croatia 2025/2026
Research area : Strategic planning in tourism
Project manager : Zrinka Marušić mag. math., univ.spec.oec.
Performer :
Implementation period : 2025-2026
Client : Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Croatia, Croatian National Tourist Board
Contributors
Other leaders: Ivo Beroš, Ivan Sever
The TOMAS Croatia 2025/2026 survey is the latest in a series of longitudinal studies on the characteristics of tourist demand in Croatia, conducted under the name TOMAS since 1987. It is a national survey carried out by the Institute for Tourism, focusing on monitoring the characteristics, attitudes, activities, satisfaction and expenditure of tourists in Croatia. The results make it possible to monitor changes in tourist demand and emerging trends, providing an evidence base for informed decision-making and tourism management.
The TOMAS Croatia 2025/2026 survey was conducted throughout Croatia, covering the period from April 2025 to March 2026. A total of 14,770 tourists were surveyed across 153 destinations, including 95 destinations in Adriatic Croatia and 58 in Continental Croatia. Data were collected in more than 4,200 accommodation establishments, including 453 hotels, 66 hostels, 128 campsites and more than 3,500 private accommodation facilities. The representativeness of the results was ensured by weighting the data according to the tourist traffic recorded in Croatia during the survey period.
The survey enables an analysis of tourist demand characteristics by region, tourists' country of origin, type of accommodation establishment, season and main travel motivation. One of its particular strengths is the ability to monitor long-term trends. For Adriatic Croatia, the summer tourist demand segment continues the TOMAS Summer survey series, which has made it possible to track changes since 1987. For Continental Croatia, the survey enables comparisons of trends across the 2019, 2022/2023 and 2025/2026 periods.
The survey results cover tourist profiles, travel motivations and modes of arrival, information sources, activities at destinations, satisfaction with various elements of the tourism offer, and average daily expenditure. Among the key findings is an increase in average daily expenditure per person compared to 2022, reaching EUR 162 in Adriatic Croatia and EUR 164 in Continental Croatia. In Adriatic Croatia, the survey also recorded an increase in the share of first-time visitors to Croatia and tourists arriving by air, alongside a shortening of the average length of stay. In Continental Croatia, average daily expenditure also increased, while business travel and city breaks continued to be important travel motivations.
The TOMAS Croatia 2025/2026 survey provides a valuable evidence base for monitoring changes in tourist demand, comparing results across regions and market segments, and planning tourism development at both national and regional levels.
Survey on attitudes and expenditures of tourists in Croatia – TOMAS 2025/2026 (in Croatian).