CROATIAN TOURISM RETURNS TO WORLD MARKET - BULIC

ZAGREB, Sept 24 (Hina) - After five difficult years, Croatian tourism has achieved a result in 1996 which presents the beginning of the return of our tourist offer on the world market, Croatian Tourism Minister Niko Bulic said at Tuesday's session of the Presidential Council, speaking about the situation and prospects of Croatian tourism. A total of 18.3 million nights' stays were registered in the first eight months of this year, which is 65 percent more than in 1995 and eight percent more than in 1994. The total revenue in tourism would be between nine and ten billion kunas (about 2.5 billion German marks), Bulic said. He added that a new trademark of Croatian tourism needed to be designed. Privatization Minister Ivan Penic said that the state and state funds were the owners of controlling interests in a very small number of companies. Speaking of further privatization of tourism, Penic said that foreigners should not be allowed to buy controlling interests of companies, either. The governor of the Croatian National Bank, Marko Skreb, recalled that the growth of the tourist industry depended on a stable macro-economic environment. The net earnings in tourism were expected at 1.3 billion dollars, Skreb said. He added that the year 1997 was expected to bring movable parity, inflation not higher than 3 percent and no change in the stable currency policy. Croatian vice-premier Borislav Skegro and director of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development Anton Kovacev also addressed the morning session. (hina) lm jn 241415 MET sep 96