ZAGREB (Croatia), September 28 (SeeNews) – Croatia's government has placed two coastal tourism projects worth a combined 678.3 million kuna ($101.2 million/90.2 million euro) on its list of strategic investment projects, the tourism ministry said on Wednesday.
The first project involves the reconstruction of Hotel Park in Rovinj by local hotel operator Maistra which has invested 539 million kuna in the works. The hotel should be upgraded to luxury standards with 209 accommodation units, a wellness and spa center and accompanying facilities, the tourism ministry said in a statement following a regular government session.
The second project is a 139.3 million kuna investment made by Croatian company Camping Nova which plans to turn a camping site located on the island of Pag into a five-star tourism destination with total accommodation capacity of 2,200.
The government has established task forces with the aim of helping investors remove obstacles to the implementation of these projects which are expected to raise the competitiveness of the Croatian economy and tourism in particular, the ministry said.
Tourism is a key industry for Croatia, generating around a fifth of the country's gross domestic product.
In 2015, tourist arrivals in Zagreb and on Croatia's Adriatic coast rose 8.3% to 14.2 million, while overnights increased 6.8% to 78.6 million.
(1 euro=7.51440 Croatian kuna)