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Croatian Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic on Tuesday held separate meetings with the ambassadors of the Czech Republic and Poland, Karel Kuehnl and Wieslaw Tarka respectively, the Tourism Ministry said in a statement. The talks with the Czech ambassador focused on closer cooperation between the two countries, particularly in promotional activities on the Czech market. Kuehnl said that tourism was the strongest bond between Croatia and the Czech Republic, and stressed the importance of developing continental tourism in Croatia. He commended successful cooperation in ensuring the security of Czech tourists in Croatia by bringing Czech police officers to the Adriatic coast during the summer months. The Polish ambassador said that Polish tourists were very committed to Croatia and felt safe there. He said that although a majority of Polish tourists travelled to Croatia by car, attention should also be paid to improving flight services.Also discussed was the possibility of Czech and Polish tourism workers working in Croatia, which Ostojic said would be completely resolved after Croatia joined the EU.

Croatian Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic has invited German investors and tourists to Croatia, saying that the country has a lot to offer in the light of the new government measures aimed at stimulating investment and improving tourist services. Ostojic extended his invitation at a press conference held as part of the international tourism fair ITB in Berlin on Wednesday. The press conference was attended by over 50 foreign reporters. Ostojic said that this month Croatia would pass a new law to stimulate investment, including that in tourist accommodation facilities. He said that in the next two years the government planned to privatise the remaining 13 state-owned tourist companies and thus encourage greenfield and brownfield investments in the national tourist industry, citing the zero tax rate on reinvested profits and the reduced VAT rate of 10% on tourism as of next year.

Last year 11.45 million tourists visited Croatia, or 8% more than in 2010, and they generated 60.35 million bed nights, a 7% increase in relation to the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Foreign holidaymakers, coming from 63 countries from all continents, accounted for 86.6% of all tourist arrivals and 90.7% of bed nights. The number of foreign tourists who visited Croatia in 2011 was 9.92 million, a 9% increase over 2010, and they generated 54.75 million bed nights, up 7.4%.After declines in 2010 and 2009, the number of domestic tourists also rose last year. They recorded 1.53 million arrivals, a rise of 2.4% over 2010, and 5.6 million bed nights, up 3.3% year on year.