Minister says tourist season excellent

A total of 7.6 million tourists visited the Adriatic coast and the city of Zagreb in the first seven months of 2015, generating approximately 40 million overnight stays, which is 9% more arrivals and 7% more overnight stays compared with the same period the year before, Croatian Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin told a news conference on Friday.

Lorencin highlighted the good tourism results and announced Croatia could expect financial effects which will amount to close to 8 billion euros.

According to official figures provided by tourist offices, 3.4 million tourists visited the Adriatic and Zagreb in July alone, which is 11% more than in July 2014. They realised 22.8 million overnights, up 9%.

"The excellent results in July tell us that the peak season had been excellently prepared by the public and private sectors. Good results in the early season and good announcements for the off peak season are proof that the programme "Croatia 365" is giving results and that Croatia is most definitely extending the tourist season, Lorencin said,

In July alone, the number of arrivals was 3.1 million, which is an increase of 11%, while the number of bed nights was up 9% to reach 20.8 million.

Croatian tourists also recorded an 8% increase in the number of arrivals and a 6% increase in the number of overnight stays.

Increases have been recorded in all Adriatic counties and the City of Zagreb.

Most of the tourist visiting Croatia in July were from Germany, followed by Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary and the United Kingdom.

(Hina)