BUSINESS OF DALMATIAN HOTELS AFFECTED BY NATO STRIKES ON SERBIA

SPLIT, March 31 (Hina) - Dalmatian hotels are faced with the cancellation of arrangements of visits of foreign tourists due to the current NATO military operation in Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro). Tourists were due to spend Easter holidays in this part of the Croatian Adriatic coast but most of them will not come. The director of the Medena Hotel in Trogir, Jakov Validic, said the NATO action will cost the hotel about 200,000 German marks. Trips and seminars as well as visit of groups of holiday-makers have been cancelled. NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) members, deployed in nearby Bosnia-Herzegovina, who used to be regular guests with their families during former Easter holidays in hotels "Biokovo" and "Meteor" in Makarska called off this year's arrangements for Easter. Groups of other foreign tourists who should have spent Easter in Makarska will not come as well. Hotels on the island of Korcula also have the same problem. However, a group of 65 Bavarian and 50-strong Czech TV crew arrived at the hotel "Kaktus" on the island of Brac. The airport of Brac, which should have opened this week, postponed the opening until April 10, after charter flights from Germany and Italy were cancelled. Hotels "Palace" and "Amfora" on the island of Hvar, work offering services to some 200 guests. The hotels are also expecting groups of Slovenes, Italians, Germans and Britons who did not call off their arrival by yesterday. (hina) ms