Croatia, a Growing Magnet for Global Productions and Screen Tourism

10-10-2025

Croatia, a Growing Magnet for Global Productions and Screen Tourism

By Alexander Gabelia

Krapina source: https://filmingincroatia.hr/location/inland-cities-towns

ZAGREB: Croatia’s profile as one of Europe’s most dynamic film and television destinations continues to rise, reaching millions of UK viewers this summer through two prime-time programmes: the BBC’s Destination X and Channel 5’s Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday. Together, both titles attracted nearly 40 million viewers and showcased Croatia’s growing appeal for international productions.

The BBC’s Destination X, directed by Byron Archard and hosted by Rob Brydon, featured key scenes filmed in Pula, whose ancient amphitheatre and coastal scenery provided some of the season’s visual highlights. Meanwhile, Channel 5’s Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday directed by Ben Bhatia, Caroline Tout, Mike Ball, and others, presented Croatia’s diversity, from Trogir’s cultural sites to luxury yachting along the Dalmatian coast.

This visibility further supports the trend of “screen tourism,” as 12% of UK travellers and 22% of Gen Z are inspired to visit filming locations from their favourite shows. According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, arrivals and overnights from the UK have continued to grow steadily, with a 6% increase in air traffic operations recorded this year.

Croatia’s strong audiovisual infrastructure, diverse locations, and sustained promotion are helping to consolidate its reputation as both a production hub and a top travel destination for 2025 and beyond.

Since its launch in 2012, Croatia’s Filming in Croatia incentive programme has supported more than 150 international productions, including Game of Thrones by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again by Ol Parker, Succession Season 2 by Jesse Armstrong, The Witcher by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, and Hotel Portofino by Matt Baker. The programme continues to play a key role in positioning Croatia as a premier European filming destination.

In 2025 Filming in Croatia supported the children’s animation series Tree & Bee (Recircle Studio), the UK crime series A Taste for Murder by Matt Baker (Drugi Plan), and the German TV film Split Homicide by Michael Kreindl (PAKT Media). The Dutch series Golden Hour S2 by Simon de Waal (Nukleus Film) and India’s You Are Mine, I Am Yours (Blenda) highlight Croatia’s expanding global reach, alongside recent U.S. projects La Corinthians (MP Films) and Betamax (Embassy Films).

In 2024 alone, 16 international and domestic projects benefited from the scheme. These included the German feature film Momo by Johannes Schaaf (serviced in Croatia by PAKT Media), the UK series Debutante S2 (MP Film Production), the U.S. series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf by David DiGilio and Jack Carr (Embassy Films), and Tidepools by Marius D'Gasco (4 Film). Notably, Croatia hosted its first Indonesian project, SORE, Wife from the Future by Yandy Laurens, later selected as Indonesia’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film.

Several Croatian coproductions such as Spacehead by Marina Andree Škop (PomPom Film), God Will Not Help by Hana Jušić (Kinorama), and Petty Thieves by Mate Ugrin (Kadromat) also received support, while projects such as Empress S2 by Katrin Gebbe and Florian Cossen, and Dražen by Danilo Serbedzija and Ljubo Zdjelarevic used the incentive for postproduction.