TOURIST SEASON SATISFACTORY - SAYS MINISTER

ZAGREB, Aug 31 (Hina) - According to estimates of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, tourist business in 1999 will be 15 to 20 percent lower than in 1998, and not 50 percent as earlier feared due to the Kosovo crisis, Tourism Minister Ivan Herak said on Tuesday. Despite results which are poorer than last year's, Herak said the summer season can be assessed as satisfactory. Next year, tourism business is expected to increase by another 20 to 25 percent, he added. Major steps forward in next year's season should not be expected due to the fact that the tourist offer cannot be improved significantly in a short time, Herak said. Speaking about measures which he believes should boost next year's tourist business, Herak mentioned a ten percent reduction in Value Added Tax, reduced interest rates of business banks, and the introduction of permanent seasonal employees in tourist companies. Another factor which should advance the tourist offer is a golf development programme, recently adopted by the Croatian government. Herak announced the opening of the first of 19 golf playgrounds for next spring. The minister said next year more funds from the state budget will be directed at the improvement of tourist offer promotion and the development of the infrastructure, among else. Herak said the Kosovo crisis was the principal cause of this tourist season's poor results, but mentioned other factors which contributed to the situation. According to the minister, most Europeans still believe Croatia is a constituent part of Yugoslavia, and Croatia is still associated with the image of a country permanently surrounded by war. Herak also believes Croatia's tourism is not sufficiently competitive, among else due to unsatisfactory coordination among boards of tourism, unrecognisable tourist destinations, apart from Istra, and the fact that, apart from the sea and the sun, the tourist offer is not sufficiently attractive, and that prices do not suit the quality of the offer. (hina) ha