ZAGREB, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Croatia could see a three percent growth this year due to expected increase in tourism, export and investment, Governor of the Croatian National Bank (HNB) Boris Vujcic said on Wednesday.
The central bank expects export to increase in 2017 by 6.6 percent year on year while import to grow by 7.5 percent and investment 6.1 percent, which leads to the revision of growth forecast for Croatia from 2.8 percent to three percent, according to state news agency HINA.
Growth could be even faster than the latest estimates if the results of the tourism season and the related export are better than expected.
Croatia is deemed as one of the most tourism-reliant countries in the world. A recently-published World Economy Forum report shows the tourism industry in Croatia accounts for 10.1 percent of its overall GDP.
Vujcic noted that both tourism and the export of commodities were growing rapidly and achieving record rates.
Positive signs are also evident in investment thanks to the inflow of European Union funds, and that trend could continue given an increase in the number of loans taken by companies for investment.
"Most of these loans in the first half of this year referred to the tourism sector, which is not surprising considering the growth in tourism, however, it is concerning that we aren't seeing a growth of that intensity in other sectors," Vujcic added.
