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Investments in the tourist industry this year have reached nearly 500 million euros and next year they are expected to increase to 676 million euros based on plans by private and public tourist companies and local authorities, Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin said on Monday. "We arrived at this figure following a recent survey of 61 tourist companies and counties. Of the total amount of 676 million euros, about 376 million would be invested by the private sector, which has seen a higher increase in investments than the public sector this year," Lorencin told a press conference.

The Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel and the Hotel Mlini were opened at a ceremony in Zupa Dubrovacka, southeast of Dubrovnik, on Friday evening. The investment totals EUR 80 million and is the most valuable project in Croatia in 2014 and 2105, HUP-Zagreb company CEO Andjelko Leko said. Attending the opening ceremony were also Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, Finance Minister Boris Lalovac, Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin and Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Branko Grcic.

Tourists from more than 75 countries visited Croatia in the first eight months of 2015, the largest numbers being recorded from Germany and Slovenia, while decreases in tourist arrivals were recorded from nine countries compared to 2014, according to figures from the National Tourist Board (HTZ). The list of countries from which tourists came was traditionally topped by Germany, from which 1.7 million tourists came, or 6% more than in the same period of 2014. They generated 13.1 million bed-nights, an increase of 6.6%. Germans were followed by Slovenians with 1.1 million arrivals and 7.3 million bed-nights, up 6.3% and 4.3% respectively.

Croatian Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin is in Colombia this week to attend a meeting of the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) General Assembly in Medellin, the ministry said in a press release on Wednesday. In his address, Lorencin spoke of the importance of tourism for Croatia, saying that the number of tourist arrivals this year had increased by 8% and expressing expectations that revenues from foreign tourists would for the first time exceed 8 billion euros.