Minister: Aggregate figures needed before commenting on season

Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin has again called for patience before commenting on the outcome of the tourist trade this season, explaining that it is necessary to wait for overall results for the entire month of July.

Lorencin, who attended a meeting of the Croatian Camping Union executive board in the Istrian coastal town of Novigrad on Tuesday, told reporters after the session that he did not want to comment on preliminary statistics and that he would be happy if the figures on tourist arrivals and overnight stays would be at the the same level as in 2012.

The minister said that bookings for August were proceeding as planned and that this season would be marked by last-minute arrangements.

He also admitted that any further significant headway in the tourist sector would require additional investments.

The Croatian Camping Union (KUH) board chairman Tihomir Nikolas said that Croatian camping sites had seen a 2.4% rise in the number of guests from 1 January to 21 July, on the year.

The Istria tourist board director, Denis Ivosevic, said that a decline in the number of tourist arrivals in Istria this season should be ascribed to "an absence of German guests".

From 1 January to 21 July this year, the number of travellers in Istria went down by 3% to 1.4 million arrivals and to 8.7 million overnight stays year on year. (Hina)