Revenue from travel for personal reasons reached EUR 7.2 billion, 3.3% more than in 2013 and 2% more than in the record year 2008, the ministry said in a press release, adding that travel revenue accounted for 17.2% of GDP, 0.6 percentage points more than in 2013.
Travel revenue in 2008 was EUR 7.459 billion.
The segment of travel for personal reasons is stronger by the year, while revenue from travel for business has been falling since 2005, when it amounted to EUR 504 million, dropping to EUR 386 million in 2008 and EUR 194 million in 2014, which the ministry attributes to the recession.
In the shoulder seasons, revenue from travel for personal reasons was EUR 30 million higher than in 2008, which is in keeping with efforts to extend the duration of the season, Minister Darko Lorencin was quoted as saying in the press release.
He said the results showed that "Croatia is becoming a more competitive, more interesting and more in-demand global destination."
In the last quarter of 2014, tourism revenue was EUR 622.8 million, up 4.4% on the year.