A
MAJOR renovation of Croatia’s crumbling hotels is expected to begin shortly as
the Government looks to sell off 250 state-owned properties.
Many
hotels remain bullet-ridden following the war in the early nineteen nineties
with some uninhabitable.
The
sell-off is expected to lead to a huge investment both from the government and
private companies to restore the hotels.
Tourism
minister Pave Zupan Ruskovic said the growth of tourism was reliant on the
renovation of hotels.
“The
country has 40,000 fewer rooms than before the war began which will hold back
expansion,” he said.
“We
had 100,000 visitors from the UK this summer, which may not seem that many
compared to the 400,000 we had in the year before the war, but three or four
years ago it was nothing. We saw a 35% rise this summer and to get back to
pre-war numbers we need more hotel capacity.”
She
estimated the redevelopment would be funded jointly through government loans
and private investment and take two to three years to complete.
Ruskovic
said it was also crucial to attract charters to Croatia.
“We
will hold talks with UK operators during World Travel Market,” she said.
Ruskovic
admitted however that the country is still suffering from an image problem,
with many agents and potential customers believing it is embroiled in the
Balkan’s dispute.
“We
are associated with Serbia, Kosovo and Yugoslavia and that is not the case. We
need to convince agents it is a safe place to visit.”
Meanwhile,
tourist chiefs have signed up Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic to push sales
in the UK.
“He is extremely popular in Britain am presents a
good image of our country,” said Ruskovic.