FRENCH EDITION OF "CROATIA" GUIDEBOOK PRESENTED IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Oct 14 (Hina) - The Croatian Information and Culture Centre (HIKZ) on Thursday presented at a press conference in Zagreb the French edition of a guidebook called "Croatia", which was recently published in Paris by the French publishing house "Gallimard". The guidebook, which has about 300 pages, offers numerous photos and paintings, the basic information about Croatia, a short survey of its history and cultural heritage, its regions and cities, and tourist information as well as data on original Croatian food. The publication was presented by the president of the HIKZ steering board, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, and HIKZ director Ivan Bekavac. Skare Ozbolt said she believed the guidebook was one of the most important promotional projects in Croatia in the last decade. HIKZ director Bekavac said preparations for the French edition, which was printed in 10,000 copies, lasted more than a year. By mid-December this year, the German, English, Italian, Spanish and Croatian editions will be handed for printing. These editions will be available by February next year, Bekavac said. He added talks were underway on publishing the Japanese, Polish, and Chinese editions. The French edition of the guidebook will be presented in Paris on November 9. (hina) rml