Croatia and tourists
In the times of the Polish People's Republic, when Poles mostly went on holiday to the Baltic Sea, the peak of my dreams was a trip to Bulgaria either, best, to the Adriatic Sea - to Yugoslavia. Now, when we can spend our vacation in almost any corner of the world, the Adriatic coast has not lost its popularity at all. On the contrary, Croatia is visited by more and more guests every year, and Poles constitute a large group among them.
Something for everyone – long coast, sun and warm sea for lazy people, lots of monuments for history lovers, crystal water diving and mountain hiking for active people. The country is also ideal for families with young children – the tourist infrastructure is at a high level, it is clean and safe.
The most visited region of Croatia is Istria – Almost a third of all visitors rest here. A comparable group chooses the Dalmatian Coast, but it's worth noting, that Dalmatia is bigger than Istria. The eastern part of the country enjoys the least interest (Slawonia).
According to information from the Croatian Ministry of Tourism, 2003 r. vacation in Croatia spent 8 878 000 people, including over 83% foreigners. For comparison – w 1995 r. only came to the country 2 438 000 tourists. From mid-years 90. In the last century, most of the newcomers were Germans – w 2003 r. they constituted 20,9% all guests from abroad. The Slovenes came second (16,3%), Italians on the third (12,4%), on fourth the Austrians (9,6%), Czechs on the fifth (9,4%). Poles took sixth place (4,8%).
Most of the foreign visitors to Croatia are individual tourists (w 2003 r. they constituted 65,5% visitors). Because that's how it is best to explore this wonderful country: take a guide, passport, some money and off you go!
When to go
The tourist season in Croatia starts in April and lasts until October. The peak falls from mid-July to the last days of August: Dear – especially on weekends – they are then monstrously crowded, in the most popular places on the beaches, it is difficult to find a place to spread a blanket, and when asked about free rooms, the staff of travel agencies spread their hands helplessly, saying puno, a lots of. Very often, there are also no places on campsites, which puts the tourist in a difficult situation, especially on the islands, which ferries rarely run. Anyway, when entering the latter, Dantesque scenes take place at this time of the year. In summer, it is worth traveling only on weekdays. And it's best to go to Croatia in May, June or September.
Population and religion
Less than less lives in Croatia 4,5 million people, of which more than half in cities. In addition, 2.5-3.5 million Croats live outside the country, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, and also in exile – mainly in the USA and Germany. The average population density in the country is 78,5 os./ km2. However, the distribution of the population is very irregular - most people live in northern and central Croatia (in the Zagreb area even 200 os./km2), while mountainous areas are sparsely populated - 18 os./km2.
Among the inhabitants of the country 78% they are Croats. From Serbs, who before the war constituted approx. 12% population, more or less left 5%, the rest left the country. Other minorities are Slovenes, Bosniaks, Hungarians, Italians, Albanians, Czechs. There are no major conflicts between individual national groups, although some Croats consider themselves "better” from members of the Bosnian and Albanian minorities.
76,8% the inhabitants of the Croatian state are Catholics. Worth knowing, that Croatian lands were Christianized earlier than Polish lands – this process had been going on since the 3rd and 4th centuries. The official date of the adoption of Christianity by the Croats is one year 800, when the Croatian prince Viseslav was baptized. Throughout the centuries, religion (Catholicism) was one of the important factors distinguishing the inhabitants of Croatian lands from their Orthodox neighbors from the east. This was also the case during the existence of Yugoslavia, an officially secular state. For the Croats, it was therefore of great importance that the Vatican recognized the independence of Croatia, which happened in January 1992 r. (the countries of the European Community and the USA did so later). Pope John Paul II, who visited the country three times (lately in 2003 r.), he was always greeted warmly.
Apart from Catholics, the largest number of Orthodox believers in Croatia, mainly Serbs. The rest are Muslims (m.in. Bosniaks and some Albanians), Protestants and Jews.