Minister Kalmeta's Message for World Tourism Day

Zagreb, 27 September 2005

To mark the celebration of this year"s World Tourism Day whose theme for this year is "TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT: FROM THE IMAGINARY OF JULES VERNE TO 21ST CENTURY REALITY", the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development invited  tourism experts associations, ministries, larger carriers (Croatia Airlines, Croatian Railways, Jadrolinija), the Croatian Post Inc. and the Croatian National Tourist Board,  to join the celebration of the World Tourism Day through various events and promotional activities.

The World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on September 27th, in form of various events around the world. The date has been chosen to coincide with a very important moment for the World Tourism Organization, the day when in 1970 its Statute has been accepted. The World Tourism Day is celebrated in order to strengthen the awareness of the importance of tourism within the international community, to emphasize its economic, social, cultural and political significance.

On that occasion Božidar Kalmeta, the Minister for the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development sends out his message:
"I am very glad that this year"s main theme of the celebration is related to travel and transport.  The integration of Zagreb and Split by a motorway has been for decades a great wish in the imagination of so many of us. This goal was achieved this summer, a goal based on the desire to reach as quickly as possible our dream destination, our favourite bay, the most beautiful mountain top, the Plitvice waterfalls.

The project of a speedy construction of modern traffic routes was recognized as one of the basic conditions for the future development of the country. Opposed to past priorities for integrating the west with the east, now it became our priority to build traffic routes towards the Adriatic Sea. Today the motorway ‘Dalmatina’ connects our two largest cities, the centre of the north-western part of Croatia, our capital, with the centre of Dalmatia, which was a long-lasting dream for the majority of our citizens.

Recognizing the importance of travel for the tourism industry, an economic area on which the development of Croatia is based, the Croatian Government has created the necessary conditions for the future construction of the motorway further towards Dubrovnik. Soon, we will also start the construction of the bridge mainland – Pelješac and all of Croatia, when it comes to traffic, will finally be integrated. At the same time, the peninsula Pelješac and all the southern islands will get the opportunity for a stronger development. With the modernization of airports, sea and river ports, with the revival of the fleets of our sea and air carriers, with the introduction of tilting technique trains and special excursion trains, tourists will be able to arrive more quickly at their destinations enjoying a higher quality of travel.

The realization of all these projects will help Croatia to remain one of the most desirable Mediterranean tourist destinations, not only because of the beauty of its unimpaired bays and  the clear sea, but also due to the infrastructure which makes it possible for tourists to enjoy a quicker and safer trip.