SUMMER: 2.2M OVERNIGHT STAYS RECORDED IN PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION

ZAGREB, Dec 9 (Hina) - Between June 15 and Sept. 15, 2.2 million overnight stays were recorded in private accommodation in Croatia, an 8.3 percent increase compared to summer 1999, the State Bureau of Statistics said. Domestic tourists accounted for 75 percent, i.e. 1.6 million overnight stays, which is 7.3 percent more than last year. With 559,000 stays, foreign tourists marked a 11.4 percent increase against the same period last year. The most numerous among the foreigners were Slovenes, a 6.8 percent drop with 191,000 overnight stays, followed by tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina with 90,000 stays, 17.3 percent more than in 1999. The Germans also recorded an increase, of 17.9 percent, accounting for 87,000 stays. The June 15-Sept. 15 period recorded an increase, of 7.4 percent, also among tourist arrivals in private accommodation, with a total of 142,000 arrivals. Domestic tourists accounted for 76,000, or 3.1 percent more than last year, while foreigners accounted for 65,000, an increase of 13 percent. Said data does not refer to commercial accommodation, i.e. renting, but people spending holidays in their own summer houses on the coast, their relatives or friends. (hina) ha