Croatia's tourism industry, a vital part of the country's recession-hit economy, registered growth during the first eight months this year, officials said on Wednesday.

During the January-August 2010, some 8.2 million tourists visited Croatia, mainly its Adriatic coast, accounting for 51.7 million overnight stays, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said.

"Compared with the (same period) last year the number of overnight stays increased six percent and the number of (tourist) arrivals three percent," she said."On the basis of these results we can say that it is the best tourist season, during the first eight months, so far," she added.

Tourism Minister Damir Bajs said he expected that by the end of the year another two million tourists would visit Croatia.

From January to July's statistics, an obvious increase is the number of Chinese tourists. Compared with the same period last year, the number of Chinese tourists visited Croatia increased 81% and the number of overnight stays increased 95%. This high rate is also because of the six-month visa-free policy for Chinese citizens announced by Croatian government early in March.

At the same time, Croatia National Tourist Board also launched its official Chinese website on World Travel Online: http://www.lvyou168.cn/travel/croatia/, where Chinese travel trade professionals and millions Chinese travelers can access more information about Croatia.

Relevant news in Chinese: 今年1至7月中国游客赴克罗地亚同比增长八成