155,763 TOURISTS VACATIONING IN CROATIA IN AFTER-SEASON

ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - A total of 155,763 tourists were vacationing in Croatia early this week, which is 40 percent more than last year and 36 percent more than in the best post-war year of 1998. Of the total number of guests vacationing in Croatia's tourist resorts, 144,723 (42.5 percent) are foreign nationals and 11,040 (11%) are domestic guests. According to data from tourism boards of Croatia's seven Adriatic counties, 57,790 tourists are on holiday in Istria County. On September 11, 32,759 tourists were on holiday in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, which is a 66 percent increase compared to last year. According to the Split County Tourism Board, 28,468 tourists are spending their holidays in Split County (a 46 percent increase). Sibenik-Knin County recorded the highest increase (of 134 percent) in the number of guests in comparison to last year. A total of 15,601 tourists are vacationing in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, which is a 94 percent increase compared to last year. Another 10,222 guests are on holiday in Zadar County, a 125 percent increase in relation to 1999. (hina) rml