Croatia Hails Record Summer for Tourism

Vejko Ostojic, Croatian tourism minister | Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Croatia’s tourism sector, a pillar the country’s economy, registered record figures in the first eight months of the year, a the Minister of Tourism said on Friday.

“Based on the results achieved so far and the announcements [for the rest of 2012] this is the best tourist season in Croatia's history,” Veljko Ostojic told reporters, based on figures of arrivals and overnight stays.

During the first eight months of the year, which include the July-August peak tourist season, Croatia hosted 9.82 million visitors, mostly on its popular Adriatic coast.

This was a rise of 4.22 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.

At the same time the country registered almost 59 million overnight stays, some 5 per cent more than in January-August last year.

The minister repeated that the country aims to increase tourism income by 3 to 5 per cent this year.

“The goal is to achieve or surpass 7 billion euro,” in annual income from tourism, he said.

Ostojic warned that new tourism investment remained crucial for the future.

Most of the travellers flocking to Croatia's Adriatic coast were Germans who made up some 20 per cent of the overall figure. They were followed by Slovenians, Austrians, Italians and Czechs.