August 27 (SeeNews) - The number of tourists visiting Croatia is expected to rise by 3% this year, whereas their overnight stays are seen increasing by up to 2%, tourism minister Gari Cappelli said.
"Considering the booking we expect for September and October, which is really good in all segments - nautical tourism, private accommodation, and especially hotels, we expect to close the year as we have planned - with some 3% rise in arrivals and 1-2% increase in overnights," Cappelli said in a government press release published on Monday after he visited the Krk island.
Cappelli said that 4% more tourists have visited Croatia year to date, as compared to the same period of 2018, while the number of their overnight stays has risen by 1.5-2%.
In terms of value, revenue from tourism has increased by some 1.4 billion kuna ($210 million/189 million euro) since the start of 2019, he said without providing a figure for the total amount of revenue, adding only that the full-year revenue is projected to grow by 2-3%.
The revenue from foreign tourists who visited Croatia in the first three months of 2019 amounted to 475 million euro ($536 million), up by 5.4% year-on-year, the tourism ministry said last month, citing central bank data.
In 2018, the revenue from international visitors rose by 6.4% to 10.1 billion euro, while total tourism revenue amounted to 12 billion euro, the ministry has said.
Tourism is a key driver for the economy of the Adriatic state, contributing some 20% of Croatia's GDP.
(1 euro = 7.39374 kuna)