He said EUR 483 million would be invested in the sector this year.
Croatia earned EUR 6.77 billion from foreign tourists in the first nine months of 2014, or 2.5% more than in the corresponding period of 2013. "We need about EUR 40 million more to reach the record revenue of 2008, but when we add the last quarter of 2014, it will be about a million more or less. Therefore we can say that revenues will financially be the same as in that record year 2008."
The minister said the newly-launched programme "Croatia 365", offering tourism product throughout the year, had contributed to the 2014 results.
National Tourist Board director Ratomir Ivicic said the sector would continue to position Croatia as a year-round destination.
Last year saw 13.05 million arrivals, up 5% on 2013, and 73.6 million bed/nights, up 2%, it was said in Split.
According to preliminary data from the central bank, Croatia earned EUR 6.77 billion from foreign tourists in the first nine months of 2014, an increase of 2.5% on the year. In the third quarter, revenue amounted to EUR 4.65 billion, surpassing the record Q3 in 2008.
In 2014, foreign tourists generated 11.7 million arrivals, up 5.2% on the year, and 67 million bed/nights, up 2.2%. Domestic tourists generated a 1% increase in arrivals and a 0.6% increase in bed/nights.
In the shoulder seasons, January-June and September-December, arrivals went up 5.6% and bed/nights 4% from 2013.
German tourists accounted for the most bed/nights last year (21%), followed by Slovenes (11%), Austrians (8%), the Czech (7%), Italians and Poles (6% each), Slovaks (3.5%), the Dutch (3.3%), the British and Hungarians (3% each).
Last year also saw an increase in bed/nights from the US (17.2%), the UK and Hungary (9% each), Bosnia and Herzegovina (8.6%), Austria (3%), Slovenia (2%) and Germany (1.5%).
Noticeable declines were recorded among tourists from Russia (13.2%), Denmark (7.5%), the Netherlands (3%), Poland and Belgium (2% each), Serbia (1.2%) and the Czech Republic (1%).
The increase in revenues generated by foreign tourists in the first three quarters of 2014 was slower than in 2013, when it was 4.8% compared with the same period in 2012, the central bank said on Monday. Compared with the first three quarters of the record year 2008, foreign tourism revenues last year were lower by 32.8 million euros or 0.5%. Total tourism revenues in 2013 amounted to 7.2 billion euros and in 2008 to 7.46 billion euros, it added.