The advice has received negative publicity and I am sorry about that. I believe that it has been misinterpreted, Ambassador Blunt said while attending an international conference in Zagreb on Monday.
The ambassador said that the advice was a warning about a general threat of terrorism and a mild threat of organised crime, adding that precautionary measures were in place for many countries, including Great Britain.
In this context, he stressed that nobody in Great Britain was trying to discourage visits to Croatia.
I am very pleased to be able to inform you that British tourists' bookings for summer holidays in Croatia have been rising, the diplomat said.
On 16 April, the British Embassy in Zagreb said in a statement that the British authorities were not warning British nationals against travelling to any part of Croatia, but were rather warning that there was an underlying threat from terrorism and organised crime. The embassy issued the statement in response to a report by BBC reporter Matt Prodger in which he referred to the British Foreign Office Travel Advice for Croatia.
"The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not warn against travel to any part of Croatia," the embassy said in the statement, adding that it was informed about the report carried by the BBC.
"What our travel advice actually says is: 'There is an underlying threat from terrorism and organised crime in Croatia. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. However, Croatia has a low crime rate and violent crime is rare," the embassy said on that occasion.