President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Thursday received the Secretary-General of the UN World Toursim Organisation Zurab Pololikashvili who arrived in Zagreb for the 64th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe (CEU).

During the meeting Grabar-Kitarovic pointed out the importance of tourism as a branch that has a great impact on the country’s economy. In that regard, she underscored that 2018 was record year when 19.7 million tourists visited Croatia, which was an increase of 6.59% and they generated 106 million bed nights. She added that foreign tourists in Croatia mostly come from Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Poland.

The president says that the importance of the tourism sector in Croatia has been recognised both by domestic and foreign investors, which has led to an increase in investments of 940 million in that sector.

The two officials exchanged their opinions on the challenges facing Croatia’s tourist trade and the coming tourism season as well as global tourism, a press release from the President’s office said.