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Revision as of 16:29, 27 May 2006

Tourism in Croatia is a well-developed industry as Croatia is an attractive tourist destination, particularly because of its extensive coastline and well-preserved coastal Renaissance towns. In 2005 Croatia had 10 million tourist visitors.

The interior of the country, with the exception of the capital Zagreb, the erstwhile Baroque capital Varaždin and a plethora of medieval castles, has fewer tourist attractions. Eight areas in the country have been designated national parks, and the landscape in these areas is afforded extra protection from development.

Several companies run flotillas of yachts along different stretches of the coastline, which is also popular with divers.

Some of the tourist attractions in Croatia include:

• Zagreb;
• the Kornati National Park;
• the fortified city of Dubrovnik;
• the Krka waterfalls, part of the Krka National Park;
• the Plitvice Lakes; and
• the town of Varaždin (former capital of Croatia)
• Istria
• the Jasenovac monument, a pilgrim site and a shrine of particular interest for Serbian visitors

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Croatia

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has included the following Croatian sites on its World Heritage List:

• Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian
• Old City of Dubrovnik
• Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč
• Historic City of Trogir
• The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik

Unexploded land mines

The minefields issue has posed a serious image problem for the tourism industry in Croatia, even though no foreign tourists have fallen victims to mines in the country. Most tourist guidebooks to Croatia include warnings of the danger of mines and cite areas of particular concern, such as in eastern Slavonia. The presence of mines in high-profile tourist areas such as the Plitvice Lakes municipality has caused significant damage to local tourism and such areas have been made a high priority for demining operations.

The problem of dealing with landmines has led to some tension between the tourism industry and the deminers. Zdenko Mičić, Croatia's minister of tourism, has vowed to remove mine warning billboards currently placed even in places where there are no mines, like ports, before the 2006 summer tourist season. Such billboards are often displayed far from actual minefields as a means of raising public awareness of the problem. However, Mičić said that, despite the humanitarian nature of the campagn, it is counterproductive for the tourist industry and that billboards should be removed.

Attacks on tourists from former Yugoslavia

There have been instances of hooligans in Croatia attacking cars and tourist visitors, particularly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. Train passengers were targeted while busses have been attacked by mobs. , Near the border crossings from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro there are billboards carrying message: "This is homeland of Ante Gotovina". Some tourists from former Yugoslavia find such display an overt provocation. The reputation of Croatia as a safe tourist destination for people from former Yugoslavia was further damaged by a beating of Serbian sport journalists by hooligans in a narrow street in the centre of Dubrovnik before a sports match in early 2006. , Tourists from Slovenia, that are not Serbs, Bosnians or Montenegrins that live in Slovenia, are however not targeted, and Croatia is still the most popular destination for Slovenes.

See also

• National parks in Croatia
• Minefields in Croatia

• Tourism in Croatia