Key Figures

-* Population : 4,2 million -* Area : 56 540 sq. km -* Nb of classified hotels : 591 -* Nb classified rooms : 52700 -* International visitors per Year : 10 million -* Room Occupancy: 42%Emerging Mediterranean Hotspot This year, Croatia has been emerging as the top tourist destination in the Mediterranean. Croatian has hosted almost 10 million visitors total since the beginning of 2012, a 4.2 percent increase as compared with the same period last year. This has achieved the Croatian Tourism minister’s goal of tourism income by three to five percents this year. According to Veljko Ostojic, the Croatian Tourism Minister, Croatia has registered record tourist, figures for the first eight months of 2012, returning to its heyday before the breakout of war with neighboring Serbia. “Based on the results achieved so far and announcements (for the rest of the year) this is the best tourist season in Croatia’s history,” says Ostojic. His goal is to attract at least 7 billion euros to the national income from tourism. This cannot be achieved, however, without massive investment in the industry. Therefore, attracting investments represents one of main economic priorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. Why is the government dedicating so much energy into the tourism sector? This industry accounts for 13% of Croatia’s GDP, and therefore can provide a much-needed boost to the economy after the shock in 2009. As well as providing some optimism in the industry, the recently- released figures also show where the tourism ministry can put their resources in order to maximize revenues. Much of the growth in tourism over the past year has been driven by international visitors; International visitors accounted for 85% of Croatia’s overall number. Not only is the sheer proportion of international-domestic visitor makeup...