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Tourism

The year 2001 will be marked in world tourism as the beginning of one of the most severe crises in the tourism industry. For the first time in last 20 years, the number of tourist arrivals worldwide experienced a decrease - down 1.3% in comparasion with 2000.

Croatian tourism, in contrast, experienced an increase of 10% in 2001 in comparision with 2000. The crisis that began to show at the end of the year did not have a negative impact on the tourism results because it arrived late in the season for most of the Mediterranean countries. However, the current crisis in the tourism industry is not limited to a specific region in the world or to just one segment of tourism products (as was the case in some previous years).

The number of tourist arrivals and overnight stays in 2001 increased by 10% in comparison to 2000. Croatia received 7.8 millions tourists, 6.5 million of them foreign, for a total of 43 million overnight stays. According to the Croatian National Bank preliminary results, international tourism revenues amounted to USD 3.3 bn in 2001, compared with USD 2.75bn in 2000.

Trade

Trade has recorded a cinsiderable increase in volume over the last couple of years. The value added created by trade activities has accounted for 45% of all newly established entrepreneurs, 10% of GDP and 14% of total employment.

The industry is currently facing a number of challenges ranging from increased competition in the domestic market, higher concentration, the introduction of new technologies, the need to offer new services and selling methods based on the availability of e-commerce, and the trend of trade globalization.

The development of the information society and information technology has changed the way of doing business, making it more adjusted to new customer needs. New ways of selling have emerged - direct sale, distance sale, e-commerce, and new services in product promotion, consulting, payment and delivery. Further development of the industry will depend on its ability to adopt changes and also on the regulations that need to put in place to ensure that adequate system of competition and consumer protection is in place.