According to the preliminary data from Croatian tourist boards, 1.8 million tourists and 6 million overnights were recorded in Croatia in the first five months of 2012.

The data relates to tourist visits on the Croatian coast and capital Zagreb, and shows an increase of nine per cent in tourist visits and thirteen per cent in overnights stays when compared with the same period last year.

Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic commented on the press conference last weekend that the results for the first five months are excellent and expressed his optimism that tourist season 2012 could be financially better than last year by three to five per cent.

Minister Ostojic added that the excellent results were achieved despite the relatively bad weather and the holiday schedule in the low-season.