Croatia Expects 4.0% Rise in ’09 Tourism Revenue, Up to 2.0% Rise in Arrivals, Overnights

"Our forecast [for next year] is for around four percent higher revenue than in 2008 and up to two percent growth of both arrivals and overnights," Bajs told SeeNews after a news conference, adding that higher revenue will be the result of higher quality of tourist service.

Huge projects worth almost one billion euro will be completed next year and new four and five star hotels will be built, Bajs said. This year already tourism revenue growth has significantly outpaced the rise in the number of arrivals and overnights, he added. 

In the first 10 months of this year, Croatia registered 10.3 million tourist arrivals and 57.3 million overnights, as much as the ministry had forecast for the whole of 2008. The rise is by 2.0% and 3.0%, respectively. Foreign tourists' arrivals were nine million, up 2.0% on the year. Foreigners spent 50.9 million overnights in Croatia, up 3.0%.  

Tourism is a key industry for the Adriatic country of 4.4 million people, generating 18% of Croatia's gross domestic product in 2007. Last year, tourism revenue rose by 7.1% to 6.7 billion euro.

The country's revenue from tourism is expected to exceed seven billion euro this year, Bajs told the news conference. The ministry's expectations for the development of the sector next year take into account the fact that major markets such as Germany and Italy have announced they are in an economic recession. 

Next year, Croatia could double its spending on tourism promotion that has been some 65.5 million kuna this year ($11.6 million/9.2 million euro), the minister said.  

(1 euro= 7.1330 Croatian kuna)