Hotel Industry and Tourism symposium held

Investment in tourism has died out in recent years and devastated hotels offer a lot of room for investment, the 3rd Croatian Hotel Industry and Tourism symposium in Petrcane, near the coastal city of Zadar, heard on Friday.  The event was organized by the Croatian-Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Employers Association's Hospitality and Tourism Association, with the aim to point to the importance of the tourism industry for Croatia's economic development.

Jako Andabak, chairman of the Hospitality and Tourism Association's executive board, said many hotels along the coast were closed or below any standard, calling for their renovation.

He said other problems included the slow state bureaucracy and the hotel companies, mostly state-owned, that had not been invested in or adapted to meet current market demands.

Zeljko Lenart, a state secretary at the Tourism Ministry, said the excellent results of this year's tourist season were the best way to attract investors, as was Croatia's European Union accession treaty. He said the upcoming accession would bring many more investors in Croatia. (Hina)