USTOA has more than 800 members, it organises tours for more than 10 million tourists and earns income of eight million dollars every year. Its members are well-known US and international tour operators which in their programmes publish the best known US and world tourist destinations.
Croatia's tourist sector was presented by Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) director Niko Bulic and HTZ New York office head Nena Komarica, who tried to include Croatia into the 2005 programmes of top 20 tour operators who sell European destinations.
Komarica told Hina that 2005 was expected to be a very good year for Croatia judging by the great interest of US tour operators. According to an opinion poll covering leading US tour operators, Croatia is the most popular new destination.
According to HTZ statistics, the number of Americans who visited Croatia in 2004 increased by 40 percent in relation to 2003, and 2005 is expected to see an even more significant rise in arrivals. Articles about Croatia as a tourist and cultural destination have appeared several times in important US dailies such as The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times, as well as in magazines Town and Country, National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Islands Magazine.