INTERNATIONAL TOURIST FAIR OPENS IN SPLIT

SPLIT, April 15 (Hina) - The sixth international fair - INTERSTAS'99 - began in Split on Thursday. The fair, which will last by 17 April, has been staged in the Diocletian Palace. It has drawn 280 exhibitors from 23 countries. At the opening ceremony, a deputy of the Croatian Tourism Minister, Vinka Cetinski, voiced satisfaction that the event was being covered by reporters from Italy, France, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. In this way they can contribute to spreading the fact in the world that peace reigns in Croatia and that tourists can spend their vacations at the Croatian Adriatic coast without any fear. She was also satisfied that none of exhibitors had cancelled their participation in the Split fair. Although the Croatian coast is completely safe just as the entire country, foreign holiday-makers have some psychological barriers, due to developments in the neighbourhood and the NATO operations in Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro), which prevent them to arrive in Croatia, said the president of the European journalists tourist organisation, Antonio Conte, at the fair. The south of Italy, however, is faced with the same problems, and the interest of foreign tourist in visiting that part of Italy was significantly decreasing over the past month, he added. (hina) jn ms