Croatia is expecting further tourism growth based on a bumper 2004, with revenues expected to climb to 8.5 billion dollars (seven billion euros) or seven percent higher than last year.
"In the first seven months of this year 4.9 million tourists visited Croatia, which is five percent more than in the same period last year," said Croatian Tourism Board chief Niko Bulic.
Croatia's success lies in a strong advertising campaign focused on its long and unspoilt Adriatic coast, combined with prices that are competitive by European standards, experts say.
"Our goal is the development of high-quality tourism and to leave behind the pre-war concept of mass tourism," adds Bulic.
Croatia's economy was shattered by the 1991-95 war of independence from the former Yugoslavia. Tourism plummeted throughout the 1990s but has now recovered to pre-war levels and looks set to soar even higher.
The government is aiming to challenge leading Mediterranean destinations such as Turkey and Greece, and to boost tourism revenues to 29 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, compared to 22 percent last year.
Highways are being built across the country and the 350-kilometer (200-mile) link from the capital to the biggest coastal town of Split will be finished by mid-2005.
Bulic said the government was also spending 24 million dollars annually on marketing, including advertisements on major international television networks describing Croatia as the "Mediterranean as it used to be".
"We intend to continue with investments aimed at improving infrastructure, and as of next year we will strongly promote the fact that with the finished highway the Croatian coast has become much closer to Europe," Bulic said.
Guests from Germany, Austria, Italy and neighbouring Slovenia form the backbone of the industry, but in 2004 Croatia saw an increase in visitors from other west European countries as well as the United States and Israel.
On the downside, rising prices caused a drop in the number of visitors from central Europe, notably Poland, the Czech republic and Slovakia. The European football championship and the Athens Olympics have also provided stiff competition.
But Croatian authorities remain optimistic that the underlying trend in 2004 is positive.
Bulic says there's no secret to Croatia's success - "the most beautiful sea in the Mediterranean, an archipelago with 1,000 islands as a paradise for nautical tourists", as well as "hospitable people".
Boating holidays are also a growth market, rising 15 percent this year.
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