Despite the fact that the past year was very difficult, the country was visited by 8.3 million tourists, which is 6% more than in 2001. Croatia's total revenue from tourism in 2002 amounted to $7.4 billion.
The biggest obstacle to the development of tourism in the country in the post-war years remains the lack of accommodation for holidaymakers. "We know," said Župan-Rusković, "that there are 26% fewer of them than required to meet market needs." Indeed, many hotels were destroyed, and for a long time refugees lived in many of them. This is especially true of the Dubrovnik region. The reconstruction that began after the end of hostilities contributed to an even greater reduction in hotel beds. It was necessary to increase their comfort, which led to an increase in the area of each room, but a decrease in their number. Croatia was once called a country of campsites, but even they are still short by about 30%.
In the middle of last year, the Croatian government developed a program called "Step to Success." It provides for state lending for the reconstruction of old and original houses, private apartments and small family hotels. It also talks about the restoration of objects valuable from a tourist point of view, as well as support and development of culture, ancient crafts and customs. To attract fresh forces to the tourism industry, they decided not to refuse funding to people who want to work in tourism but do not have sufficient experience. The state takes upon itself the financing of promotional campaigns, info tours for the press, and provides subsidies to operators, including Russian ones, that offer year-round tour packages to Croatia.
The program pays special attention to the promotion of adventure tourism. Yacht rental and cruises along the coast, cycling and rafting, parachute jumping and jeep safaris, horseback riding and golf - all this and much more, which Pave Župan-Rusković called light adventurism, can be found on the Adriatic coast. Well, for those who do not like to stir the blood, agritourism with accommodation in an ancient house is offered.
Speaking about new resorts, the minister mentioned that this season tourists will be able to relax on the Prevlaka Peninsula. There was a military base there for a long time, then UN troops were stationed, and now 300 apartments and a congress center await guests. This year Croatia expects an increase in tourist flow by 20-30%.
Concluding the press conference, Pave Župan-Rusković announced that tourist Croatia now has a new slogan. It goes like this: "Croatia - the spirit of antiquity, the grandeur of nature."