POLES CANCELLING TOURIST ARRANGEMENTS FOR CROATIA

ZAGREB, Apr 8 (Hina) - Even though Croatia is not directly linked with the Kosovo crisis, this year Polish tourists have opted for spending their summer holidays in Spain. They are cancelling their reservations in Greece and Italy as well. To inform Polish tourists, who are traditional guests in Croatia, that Croatia is a safe country, Croatian Ambassador to Poland Zdenko Karakas on Wednesday spoke about Croatia on Poland's national television. Croatia's Board of Tourism is currently attending a tourism fair in Katowice. The GLOB '99 fair is the second largest of its kind in Poland, and this year features 280 exhibitors from a dozen countries. Croatia's representative at the fair, Ana Predovan, on Thursday said Polish tourists would start cancelling their arrangements for Croatia in the peak summer season unless the Kosovo crisis was resolved soon. Despite announced cancellations, Predovan said there have been many individual tourists asking about holidays in Croatia. Last year, some 130,000 Poles spent their holidays in Croatia, 30 percent more than in 1997. They accounted for 900,000 overnight stays. Predovan believes that if the political crisis in Yugoslavia is stopped and the cancellations interrupted, 20 percent more Poles will visit Croatia this year. (hina) ha