Revenues from tourism activities in first seven months up 8.5%

Tourism revenues in the first seven months of 2013 were 8.5% higher than in the corresponding period of 2012, the Tourism Ministry said on Tuesday citing figures supplied by the Tax Authority.

Revenues from hospitality services and travel agencies in the first seven months of the year were 13.27%. Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin said that the tourism turnover and revenues showed a positive trend this year.

"The increase in revenues in tourism activities follows the increase in the number of arrivals and bed nights. We are very pleased about this because financial indicators are the key measure of success of the tourist season. Investments in the tourism sector, which amounted to 2.6 billion kuna this year, had a positive impact on the figures achieved," Lorencin said.

The minister was optimistic about the off-peak season too and said he expected an overall rise in tourism revenues of between 2% and 3% at the end of the year.

Figures show that in the January-July 2013 period legal and natural persons generated 5.51 billion kuna in revenues from tourist accommodation services, up 2.7% from the same period last year. Revenues from camp sites went up 6.9% to 164.56 million and those from tour operators increased 3% to 244.65 million kuna. Revenues from the restaurant trade saw the highest increase, of 28.2% to 2.42 billion kuna, followed by revenues from cafes which rose 27.2% to 2.14 billion kuna. (Hina)