A record number of tourists visited Slovakia during summer 2016, data published by the Slovak Statistics Office confirmed.
As many as 1,618,633 people spent their holiday in Slovakia between June and August 2016, which is 15.8 percent more than last year. The holidaymakers spent more than 5 million nights (up by 15.6 percent year-on-year) here, which represents 3.1 nights on average, Zuzana Onufer, spokesperson for the Slovak Tourist Board (SACR) informed in a press release.
The number of holidaymakers from Slovakia increased by 15 percent y/y. They visited mostly the regions of Žilina (up by 22.2 percent y/y), Prešov (up by 18.5 percent y/y) and Bratislava (up by 16.2 percent y/y). They spent the most nights on average in the Trenčín Region (4.4 nights), while Košice Region reported the highest increase in the number of nights spent (36 percent y/y).
As for foreign tourists, their number rose by 16.7 percent y/y. They visited mostly the Bratislava Region (up by 39.6 percent y/y), followed by Žilina Region (17.1 percent y/y) and Prešov Region (16.3 percent y/y). They spent the most nights on average in the Trnava Region (4.5 nights), while the highest increase was reported by the Košice Region (up by 60 percent y/y), Onufer said.
July posts records in tourism Read moreThe most tourists came to Slovakia from the Czech Republic (35 percent), followed by Poland, Germany, Hungary, Austria and the United Kingdom. The highest increase in the number of foreign holidaymakers was posted by the countries of western and southern Europe.
The country with the highest increase in tourists to Slovakia is Israel, which rose by 34.3 percent year-on-year.
“We registered the increase in the number of tourists from most of the relevant markets on which we focus during Slovakia’s promotion,” said SACR head Marián Bujna, as quoted in the press release.
There are several factors behind this increase, including attractive tourist destinations, new flight connections, the current geopolitical situation and SACR activities, he added.
As for the whole year 2016, altogether 3.4 million people have already visited Slovakia, which is 18.4 percent more than last year. In order to keep up the growth dynamics, it is necessary to have success during the winter season, Bujna said.