Croats' spending abroad was considerably lower. They spent EUR32 million in the 24 countries covered by the research in 2004.
Compared to 2003, Croats' payment by Maestro in 2004 was up 68.7 per cent to EUR2.4 million, while payment by MasterCard was up seven per cent to EUR29.6 million.
The study showed that Croats spent the most with MasterCard and Maestro in Italy -- EUR10.2 million, while the biggest spenders in Croatia were the Germans -- EUR38.5 million.
Compared to the countries in the region in terms of spending by foreigners, Croatia ranked fourth, while it ranked seventh in terms of Croats' spending abroad. Russians, Slovenes, the Czech, Hungarians, Poles and Ukrainians spent more abroad than Croats, while Slovaks and Romanians spent less.