The island of Vir expects over 2 million overnight stays by the end of August, but the director of the Tourist Board warns that figures could be up to 15 percent higher if all guests were registered.
The island of Vir is experiencing one of its strongest tourist seasons to date. From the beginning of the year to the end of July, domestic and foreign guests have generated 1,398,660 overnight stays, placing Vir eighth among Croatian tourist destinations. During the same period, 95,735 arrivals were recorded, and by the end of August, the island is expected to surpass the 100,000-guest mark and exceed 2 million overnight stays.
According to data reported by 023.hr, seven destinations currently rank ahead of Vir: Rovinj (2,504,410 overnight stays), Dubrovnik (2,415,711), Poreč (2,042,686), Split (1,773,081), Umag (1,586,525), Medulin (1,520,449), and Zagreb (1,498,941). Behind Vir are Zadar (1,365,261) in ninth place and Novalja (1,212,417) in tenth.
By early September, Vir is projected to overtake Zagreb on the overnight stay list, and it may also surpass Medulin for sixth place. Other destinations in the broader top 20 include Funtana, Mali Lošinj, Pula, Crikvenica, Tar, Vrsar, Makarska, Šibenik, Krk, and Novigrad in Istria.
Despite strong results, Srđan Liverić, director of the Vir Tourist Board, emphasizes that the statistics would be even more favorable-by roughly 5 to 15 percent, possibly more-if all visitors generating commercial overnight stays on the island were properly registered in the eVisitor system.
Some data is lost under the label "relatives, friends," while the largest portion of irreparable damage comes from unregistered guests. This year's field campaign by the State Inspectorate quickly and efficiently uncovered unregistered and illegal renters.
"The Adriatic is vast, and tourist inspectors are currently doing as much as they can, but in coordination with the tourist board system and municipal inspection services, they will take to the field again. We've had talks and meetings, and it's clear to everyone that illegal renters still exist and that we can only minimize them through frequent field visits and the closure of illegal properties," Liverić told 023.hr.
For years, Liverić, in cooperation with the Municipal Inspection Service and with the support of the Vir Municipality, has been warning about the gray economy in Vir's tourism sector. The shared goal is to reduce this illegal activity to the level of statistical error.
"For at least ten to fifteen years, we've been conducting field inspections on Vir and recording everything that falls outside the eVisitor system, and such actions have yielded results. We always appeal to people's awareness and remind them of their legal obligations when it comes to tourism activities-that hosts must register commercial tourists, as well as relatives who visit. Fines are not small, and the damage is irreparable," Liverić said.
If the number of tourist inspectors matched the needs of destinations and field reports, the number of closed illegal facilities would not be sporadic and in the tens, but would reach at least a three-digit figure.
