Croatian tourism

According to the latest official statistics, Croatia's economy has demonstrated remarkable recovery，while the tourism as a major pillar of the economy suffered less loss from the global financial and economic crisis than expected. Current bookings for the peak tourist season in Croatia are on rise, even though they have not reached last year's level.  As for the tourism sector, Croatia has launched various promotional campaigns this year in neighboring countries and the Asia-Pacific area in an effort to attract tourists. The government has also scheduled an agenda of offering visa-free travels for tourists from China and India, the two most populous countries in the world.  Croatia had around 1.8 million domestic and foreign tourists in the first five months of 2009, nine percent fewer than the same period last year, but Croatia still did better than its competitors Spain, Italy, Montenegro, Greece and France, according to Croatian Tourism Minister Damir Bajs.  It is learned that the five-month indicators cannot represent a solid foundation for the assessment of the whole season, because this period amounts only to 17 percent of tourist arrivals and 11 percent of overnight stays.  Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Zagreb.