Party tourists and beach clubs: Croatia reports new record values for corona infections almost every day. That now has consequences. Austria, Italy and Slovenia have issued travel warnings. Germany warns of two regions.
Belgrade (dpa) - The increasing number of corona infections in Croatia is having a hard time affecting the tourism sector there. Foreign guests began to leave the country or to cancel their reservations, the state broadcaster HRT reported on Saturday.
Austria, Italy and Slovenia have issued travel warnings for the entire holiday country on the Adriatic, the German Foreign Office warns against traveling to two regions. Tourists from these four countries make up the majority of foreign visitors to Croatia.
"Unfortunately, we see that guests are leaving, mainly from Germany, Austria, Slovenia and other countries that have put us on a red list," said Filip Kulusic from the Croatian Adriatic International Club. "People leave for many reasons - family, politics, work," Kulusic said. "Ultimately, they want to be home and safe."
Tourism is a very important industry in Croatia: it accounts for around 20 percent of the gross domestic product. The country opened to tourists on July 1 and reported high numbers of visitors until the recent increase in corona cases. The tourist season usually lasts until October. Croatia is one of the most popular foreign holiday destinations among German citizens, with a high proportion of individual travelers.
In Germany, the classification as a risk area means that returning holidaymakers are obliged to test for the corona virus. Until the result is available, they have to go into quarantine at home. The central criterion for classification as a risk area is in which states or regions there have been more than 50 newly infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days.
Croatia had recently registered a steep increase in corona cases. On Friday, authorities reported a record 265 cases in the previous 24 hours.
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