Croatia rolled into London's World Travel Market in early November 2026 with a big delegation and bigger ambitions: more British visitors in 2027, and not just in July and August.
The Croatian National Tourist Board sent Tourism and Sport Minister Tonči Glavina and HTZ director Kristjan Staničić to lead the charge, with 32 co-exhibitors manning the stand. Their diary was packed: back-to-back meetings with Jet2.com & Jet2Holidays, EasyJet Holidays, British Airways, Love Holidays, TravelZoo, ABTA and others, with air connectivity topping the agenda. Several partners are already signalling expanded Croatia programmes for next year.
Why the push? Brits punch above their weight here. They rank among Croatia's top ten source markets, and TOMAS research puts them second by spending — only behind no one you'd need to guess, because the minister's own line is that British guests are among the biggest daily spenders in the country. EVisitor data for the first ten months of 2026 shows 841,000 UK arrivals (up 2%) and 4.1 million overnight stays (up 1%). Dubrovnik-Neretva and Split-Dalmatia counties take the most British nights, with Dubrovnik, Split, Konavle, Župa Dubrovačka, Rovinj and Zadar leading at destination level.
There's a shift in how Brits travel, though, and Croatia is betting on it. ABTA's latest trends research found 88% of Brits took at least one holiday in the past year — a figure matching pre-pandemic 2019 despite cost-of-living pressures — and ranks Croatia 13th among destinations British travellers plan to visit in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, city breaks have become the most popular holiday format for UK travellers, which suits Croatia's proximity nicely. Add demand for off-season trips, shorter getaways and authentic experiences, and you can see why the tourist board sees alignment with its own strategy of spreading tourism more evenly across the year.
The stand wasn't all spreadsheets, either. Croatian wines were poured in a tasting run with the Croatian Chamber of Economy, and the stand's video walls carried the new "Croatia — I hear it's beautiful" promotional film starring John Malkovich.
For travellers, the practical upshot is simple: expect more flights and more packaged options to Croatia from UK operators in 2027, with tour operators actively extending their seasons. If you've been eyeing Dubrovnik in peak summer, the smart move may be a shoulder-season city break in Split or Zadar instead — cheaper, quieter, and exactly the kind of trip both the market and the destination are now pushing.
Reported by Total Croatia.
