OPATIJA, Oct 12 (Hina) - This year's tourist season in Croatia was successful, despite many problems, and on virtually all major foreign markets Croatia has been voted winner of the season in the Mediterranean, alongside Bulgaria,
having recorded 7.3 million tourists in nine months, an increase of five percent as against 2001, as well as steps forward in the quality of the offer.
OPATIJA, Oct 12 (Hina) - This year's tourist season in Croatia was
successful, despite many problems, and on virtually all major
foreign markets Croatia has been voted winner of the season in the
Mediterranean, alongside Bulgaria, having recorded 7.3 million
tourists in nine months, an increase of five percent as against
2001, as well as steps forward in the quality of the offer. #L#
This evaluation was made by Tourism Minister Pave Zupan-Ruskovic in
Opatija on Saturday, at a National Tourist Board conference which
pooled more than 400 tourist workers who convened at the end of the
main tourist season in Croatia.
An inflow of US$4 billion in foreign exchange is expected before the
year is out, the minister reiterated.
She commended the fact that the main season had been extended to the
end of October, and that 143 million kuna (EUR19.3 million) from the
state budget had been earmarked for tourism. The minister recalled
that EUR200 million had been invested in tourism this year, 111
percent more than last year, which contributed to a better offer, as
well as to a 36 percent higher financial gain for tourist
companies.
As for the past season's problems, the minister mentioned grey
economy in the renting of accommodation and boats, construction
works and road-building, inadequate working hours of postal
offices and banks, an earlier Easter, and unexpectedly poor
weather.
"Efforts will be invested in averting all that next season, which I
hope will be even better that this year's as many new roads and new
accommodation facilities will be completed by then," said Zupan-
Ruskovic.
Attending the conference were representatives of hoteliers,
agencies, camps, air and ship carriers, and yachtsmen.
Deputy Prime Minister Slavko Linic said that in the future
hoteliers would have precedence in the purchasing of land, unlike
before when they encountered many problems.
Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac said that tourist workers could
count on a macroeconomically and politically stable state next year
too, as well as on direct state incentives for tourism,
particularly the "Incentives for Success" credit programme.
(hina) ha sb