Visa card company organizes round table on tourist spending in Croatia

Foreign tourists who used Visa cards during their stay in Croatia last year spent nearly USD 830 million, or 7 per cent more than in 2009, Visa's general manager for Southeast Europe, Jean-Marc Tonti, told a round-table discussion on tourist spending held in Zagreb on Thursday.

The credit card company issued a special publication, entitled "Tourism Outlook: Croatia", which includes the results of a survey of tourist spending based on the use of Visa cards in Croatia.

The company expects a further rise in tourist spending this year following the economic recovery of most markets that are relevant to Croatia.

Last year the biggest spenders were German tourists, who spent USD 80.7 million, or 10 per cent more than in 2009. They were followed by Britons, who spent USD 78.4 million, or 21 per cent more.

Italians, who had topped the list in 2009, slid to third place with USD 75.8 million spent, down 9 per cent. Norwegians ranked fourth, increasing their spending by 17.8 per cent to nearly USD 60 million, while the French were fifth with USD 52.5 million, a decline of 1 per cent.

Sharp increases in spending of between 30 and 50 per cent were recorded among tourists from Brasil, Russia, India and China.

Interestingly, Slovenia was not in the top 10 although many Slovenian tourists traditionally spend their summer holidays along the Croatian coast. Tonti said that this was because they spent less via Visa cards. (Hina)