CROATIAN TOURISM BOARD TO INVEST MORE MONEY INTO MARKETING IN 2003

CAVTAT, Oct 26 (Hina) - The Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) will next year invest 43 percent more funds than this year for next year's promotion of Croatian tourism, mostly on the German market, HTZ president Niko Bulic said in Cavtat at Saturday's session of the HTZ Tourism Council. #L# The council adopted a working plan and programme of the HTZ for 2003. Considering this year's six percent increase in the number of tourists in Croatia in comparison to last year, the plan envisages a growth of real turnover from tourism by three to five percent, and financial turnover of about five percent -- from this year's four billion US dollars to 4.2 billion dollars. HTZ will invest some four million euros in marketing in 2003, which will be a 43 percent increase to this year's EUR2.8 million. Of the amount, most of it, or almost 40 percent will be spent on the German market. HTZ will appear at 46 fairs, on six of which Croatia will be a country-partner. Croatia will have a new motto on the fairs "Croatia -- Mediterranean As it Used to Be". (hina) lml sb