Deputy PM Polancec says privatisation in tourism sector must continue

It is important for Croatia's tourism to continue the privatisation of the remaining 14 companies in the tourism sector in which the state holds a majority stock, Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec said at a round table discussion in Zagreb on Thursday.

The event was organised by the national trade union of workers in the tourism and service sectors (SUTH), the Zagreb office of the ICEM-IUF trade union associations and the Zagreb office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Polancec said that there would be a delay in the privatisation process due to a recent corruption scandal in the Croatian Privatisation Fund, but that there was no alternative to privatisation, except for bankruptcy, which he said should be avoided.

All of the 14 remaining state-owned companies in the tourism sector have major problems, each seeks loans to pay salaries, and as such they are difficult to prepare for privatisation, Polancec said.

Their privatisation should be transparent, and its purpose is not to collect money for the state budget, but to find a good partner and fresh capital for their development and new employment, Polancec said. (Hina)