ALMOST 300 000 TOURISTS ENTER CROATIA OVER WEEKEND

( Editorial: --> 2670 ) RUPE/PASJAK, 9 Aug (Hina) - About 140,000 tourists, mostly Austrians, Germans, Italians and Slovenes, entered Croatia by 7am on Sunday via the country's busiest border crossings of Pasjak and Rupe. About 100,700 tourists left Croatia by the same period, border police said. There are two to three entry lanes and one to two exit lanes at these two border crossings in north-western Croatia. Police expect traffic to increase in the afternoon and evening. Waits are not long for ferries at wharves in Rijeka. Traffic in the Rijeka region is intensified but without delays except for a section of the Krk road between Njivice and Malinska, where an overturned yacht trailer caused traffic to slow down. Three border crossings in the Istria County - Plovanija, Kastel and Pozane - this weekend saw the entry of 145,600 and the exit of 101,400 tourists. There were no delays or waiting. Vehicles at the Kastel and Plovanija border crossings entered Croatia in three lanes while those at Pozane entered the country in two lanes. An increase in entries by campers has been registered. (hina) rml 091517 MET aug 98