Christmas markets are not just tradition across Europe, they are big businesses that give cities a huge economic boost every December. For Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, it is an effective way of attracting tourists outside of the country’s main summer season.

The words “tourism” and “Croatia” are likely to conjure visons of sparkling Adriatic vistas during the hottest months of the year.

Tourism accounts for more than a fifth of the economy of this Balkan country, and it is keen to encourage more visitors to arrive outside of the height of summer. Yuletide frolics are a key part of that strategy.

“We’re making a transformation,” says Croatia’s Tourism Minister, Tonci Glavina.

“We are developing as a year-round tourism destination – we are not a summer destination anymore. Croatia has really made a significant development. At some point way back it was just sun and sea, but now Croatia offers many tourism products all across the country.”

Zagreb Advent, as the capital’s Christmas markets and events are collectively known, is the poster child for this approach, with billboards in neighbouring countries urging people to attend. In fact, this year the campaign has spread as far as London’s tube stations and Milan’s buses.

There are even special trains to bring visitors from Slovenia and Hungary. All of it is part of Zagreb’s push, in a very crowded field, to become one of Europe’s most popular Christmas markets.

While some cities might limit their offering to a single location, Zagreb Advent is a multi-venue spectacular that takes over large chunks of the centre.

“The entire city has become a festive ground for celebrating Christmas throughout the whole of December,” says Slavica Olujic Klapcic, who manages one of the Christmas market areas.

“What’s really special around here is that each of the locations has its own theme, and it’s a little bit different in decoration, and in the content that it offers. So for a visitor, I think it’s a good deal, because by taking a walk through Zagreb, you can see many different spots.”

Like other Christmas markets across Europe there are no shortages of the usual seasonal staples, such as sausages and mulled wine. But there are also multiple music stages, craft stalls, vendors offering traditional Croatian food, art installations, and an enormous ice rink.

“It brings life to Zagreb,” reckons Zrinka Farina, who is involved with putting on Christmas market events outside the city’s historic Hotel Esplanade, as well as a food and music market at nearby Strossmayer Square called Fuliranje – which roughly translates as “fooling around”.

But she says that Croatians are deadly serious about trying to offer Europe’s best Christmas market. “We are such a sporty nation, we love to compete – and when we do something, we really want to be the best in the world in it.”

Such has been the effort that the city has put into Zagreb Advent since it was first held in 2014 that it was voted the best Christmas market in Europe for three years in a row, from 2015 to 2017.

The competition is organised by travel website European Best Destinations, and Zagreb’s success has helped to drive visitor numbers to the city every December.

Back in 2014, the city saw 100,198 people stay for at least one night during the last month of the year. By 2024 this had more than doubled to 245,352, which the tourist board says gave the city a €100m ($117m; £88m) economic boost.

However, Zagreb has a long way to go if it wishes to catch up with Europe’s Christmas market heavyweights.

The one held in the German city of Cologne is widely reported to be the most popular. It is expected to attract four million visitors this year, with an economic impact of €229m.

Meanwhile, Austria’s capital Vienna attracts around 2.8 million visitors to its Christmas market, and France’s Strasbourg gets two million people.

Zagreb’s event also has a limited history – it is only in its 11th year. By contrast, Dresden’s Christmas market, widely considered to be the world’s oldest, was first held in 1434. Strasbourg’s began in 1570, Vienna in 1764 and Cologne in 1820.

Despite its infancy, Zagreb Advent is said to be attracting visitors from across Europe. “They come here from Italy, Spain, Bosnia, Slovenia and even the UK,” says Lucija Vrkljan, who is working as a steward at the ice rink.

“It’s a great place to be,” says Dario Kozul, the founder of BioMania, a bistro with a stall offering vegan and gluten-free food at the Hotel Esplanade Christmas market. “We have a cross-marketing situation all the time,” he adds.

“People walk into this event and test our food – they’re really very pleased with it. Then we talk about our restaurant, and within the next couple of days, we see them there.”

Marko Peric, dean of the Faculty of Tourism at Croatia’s University of Rijeka, agrees that Zagreb Advent brings “unusually high” numbers of arrivals and overnight stays in December.

But he cautions that the rest of Croatia’s heavy reliance on the summer season is a weakness that still needs to be addressed. “We need to work and develop our tourist offer in other parts of the year, including the winter,” he says.

“We don’t have snow, but we can offer a lot. We should rely on our gastronomy, which is well known, with many tourists arriving just because of that. And we could use other types of events like carnival in February, or sporting events.”

Tourism Minister Tonci Glavina insists that Croatia is making moves in the right direction. He points out that visitor numbers over July and August were actually slightly down on the same period in 2024.

But the country is still on course for a record-breaking year, thanks to significant growth either side of the summer peak, with around 5% more arrivals in June and September. This, says the minister, is “just perfect”, as is the 10% year-on-year rise over the first week of December.

“We are transforming Croatia to be a sustainable tourism destination, meaning about the same number of guests in peak season, developing the shoulder seasons, and of course developing other parts of the country to be main tourism destinations.”

Zagreb Advent has already shown the benefits. Although that may not be the first thing that springs to a visitor’s mind with all the traditional Croatian treats on offer.

After all, what could be better than a post-skate fritule doughnut, except perhaps a fritule with chocolate sauce.