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Viewing cable 07ZAGREB112, CROATIA KEEPS TOURISM INDUSTRY AT THE FOREFRONT

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ZAGREB112 2007-02-01 14:05 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Zagreb
VZCZCXRO5264
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0112/01 0321405
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011405Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7225
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000112 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV EIND HR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
SUBJECT: CROATIA KEEPS TOURISM INDUSTRY AT THE FOREFRONT 
 
1. Summary. Croatian officials are proclaiming 2006 as another 
banner year for tourism while, at the same time, warning the 
industry not to rest on its laurels and encouraging improvements in 
existing facilities and infrastructure, green-field investments and 
creation of new products and services. While the success stories 
have been mainly in the coastal region and Istria, officials are 
looking to the interior for new attractions and to extend the season 
beyond July and August. The tourism industry accounts for 20 percent 
of Croatia's GDP and nearly 40 percent of total exports. End 
summary. 
 
2. More than 10 million tourists visited Croatia in 2006, spending 
$8.16 billion, a 3 percent increase over the previous year. Of 
those, 152,000 tourists hailed from the U.S., an increase of 134 
percent over 2005, but still a small number in comparison to 
Europeans, who account for 64 percent of the total number of 
tourists. Countries sending the most tourists to Croatia are 
Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Czech Republic and Austria, according to 
the Croatian Chamber of Economy's tourism department. Tourism 
officials attribute the increase to better promotion targeting the 
U.S. and Europe and an active network of tourism councils helping to 
improve facilities and offerings. Last year some 120 articles and 60 
TV programs on Croatia ran in the U.S. and Croatian tourism 
representatives promoted the country at tourism fairs throughout the 
world. Surveys show that the majority (78 percent of foreign 
tourists) come to Croatia's Adriatic coast.  The board expects the 
number of tourists from the U.S. to increase further with a new 
Delta Airlines/Air France codeshare to Croatia. Their goals for 
development are to promote Croatia as the premier destination in the 
Mediterranean and Europe, increase earnings by increasing 
consumption and extending the season. However, as tourism reaches 
its capacity on the coast, developers are eyeing the interior of the 
country, traditionally agricultural areas to create new tourism 
destinations. 
 
3. Amid the good numbers, hoteliers complain that a 10 percent Value 
Added Tax (VAT) on accommodations and agency fees, along with the 
discontinuation of subsidies for organized tours, has cut into their 
profits. Sanda Corak of the Institute for Tourism said Croatia's 
tourism VAT is higher than that of many other tourist destination 
countries such as Spain and Italy where the VAT is about 7 percent. 
The hotels and campgrounds may also have suffered from drastic price 
increases, reportedly as high as 57 percent over last year, without 
significant improvements in amenities. However, officials at the 
Ministry of Tourism said growth and profit will come by increasing 
the capacity of marinas and four and five-star hotels. 
 
-------------- 
Who does what? 
-------------- 
 
4. Several offices have a hand in Croatia's tourism industry from 
planning to promotion. 
The Croatian Chamber of Commerce oversees eight associations and 
affiliations covering travel agencies, hoteliers and caterers, and 
those involved in niche tourism such as nautical, adventure, health, 
rural and cultural tourism. The Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, 
Traffic and Development oversees legal issues, including urban 
plans. The Tourism Institute, funded equally by the ministry and 
private industry, conducts research on tourism trends and makes 
recommendations. The Croatian National Tourist Board promotes the 
country's tourist destinations. The Board and the Croatian Chamber 
of Commerce are also linked to offices in 20 cities throughout 
Croatia, 10 of which are on the coast. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Making Zagreb more attractive to tourists 
----------------------------------------- 
 
5. Amelia Tomasevic of the Zagreb Tourist Board said increasing bus 
tours brought more foreign visitors to Zagreb last summer. Klaric of 
the Croatian Chamber of Commerce said another factor is "City 
Breaks" weekend stops in Zagreb, which combines cheap flights with 
excellent hotels. Tour organizers book cultural events (play, opera, 
museum visit) in advance. Tomasevic said word of mouth, especially 
from celebrities, also helped promote Zagreb to tourists. For her 
part, Ms. Tomasevic grants interviews to every journalist who 
requests one and leads them to sources in other cities. Copying 
Helsinki's idea, Tomasevic hired young people as city guides during 
the summer months. Last year 20 multi-lingual students walked around 
the city, answered tourists' questions and provided printed 
information and maps. This year the guides will start in May, two 
months earlier than last year. 
 
6. Tomasevic said Zagreb needs a 2,000 capacity convention hall in 
the center, development along the riverfront and a solution to the 
graffiti problem. The convention center has been discussed on and 
off for some 30 years. Tomasevic disagrees with the most recent 
proposal to build it on the Zagreb fair grounds, south of the Sava 
River, because it would not give conventioneers easy access to city 
center attractions and shopping. Tomasevic and Davor Njiric, adviser 
to the Minister of Tourism, both mentioned the need for 
 
ZAGREB 00000112  002 OF 002 
 
 
hydroelectric plants to regulate the water level of the Sava before 
any real development can take place. But they said that is years 
away from reality. 
 
--------- 
The coast 
--------- 
 
7. Tourism Institute surveys show travelers are no longer satisfied 
with an apartment on the beach, but also want activities and 
excursions. Corak called the isolated apartments and small houses 
dotting the coastline an eyesore, but said they would at least try 
to link them with nearby hotels for activities. She said not 
everyone on the coast wants to extend the season past September. 
Despite pleasant weather in October, hotel owners on the island of 
Brac refused to remain open, saying they had to tend to wineries and 
other winter activities, she said. 
 
--------------------- 
Creating new products 
--------------------- 
 
8. Tourism officials and USAID are promoting cultural, rural, 
nautical, wellness, and adventure tourism to extend the season and 
attract tourists away from the crowded coast. Projects include a 
winter resort in the Velebit mountains, boasting a view of the 
Adriatic coast. The project is being funded by a $1.8 million grant 
from the European Commission's CARDS program. There are 53 golf 
course proposals being reviewed, according to Njiric of the Ministry 
of Tourism. Njiric said the GoC gives subsidies, small loans and 
grants to entrepreneurs, especially those renovating small, 
family-run hotels and historic sites. He said small hotel owners are 
also benefiting from a $325,000 grant from Italy. 
 
9. USAID projects include small and family hotels, gastronomy, 
regional tourism in Baranja, Virovitica, Vukovar, Varazdin, Cakovec, 
Koprovnica and Skradin; training destination management companies 
and tour operators; improving food services quality and event 
management. They said their projects are focusing on extending the 
season and creating tourism opportunities from September to June and 
in areas away from the coast. Their goal is to create 1,500 new jobs 
in the next year. USAID contractors said the biggest gap in 
Croatia's tourism industry lies with tour operators and destination 
managers who are not trained or prepared to handle an influx of more 
demanding tourists. They added, however, that services in general 
need to be improved, especially in the interior of the country. 
About 80 restaurants are participating in a USAID-sponsored 
educational program conducted by Gastronomadi, a Croatian company 
started by former food critics. 
 
------------------------------ 
Taking tourism to the interior 
------------------------------ 
 
10. Through education and outreach, officials have convinced local 
communities in non-traditional tourist areas that tourism is a 
viable source of income, complementing small-scale agriculture. 
Recommendations include placing signs on the road to direct tourists 
to existing attractions, and adding information, interpretation and 
guides to the sites. Some of the targeted spots include Vukovar, 
Karlovacko and Vinkovci (archaeological site) and anywhere else 
there is a castle, historic site, artifact, ruins, annual festival, 
nature park or national park. While Vukovar already has become an 
important place to learn about the recent war, the city's active 
port on the Danube River and wineries are also a big draw.  The 
Tourist Institute cautions that a lot of investment will be needed 
to turn these sites into overnight destinations, including building 
new hotels and restaurants. 
 
--------- 
Investors 
--------- 
 
11. The problems with investments often stem from unrealistic 
expectations on the investor's part. Now that the urban plans have 
been put into place, investors cannot expect to come to Croatia to 
build a golf course on agriculturally zoned land, according to 
Njiric. No matter how large the potential investment, the GoC says 
it will not rezone the land once the urban plans are adopted, he 
added. Croatia's planners have also become more concerned and 
protective of the environment and environmental impact studies are 
often required, especially for green-field projects. 
 
Bradtke