Tourism
Organized tourism in Istria goes back to the Romans, when emperor Vespasian, for the entertainment of that time, built the amphitheater (Arena) in Pula. During the reign of Austro-Hungarian Empire in (1866), Austrian and Hungarian royalty and aristocracy started visiting local resorts and discovered Poreč.
Significant efforts were made after World War II to develop the tourist infrastructure and to accentuate its importance. In combination with the natural beauties, rich history and cultural heritage, investments paid off and resulted in highly developed, competitive service all along the western coast in Poreč, Pula, Rovinj, Umag, Novigrad, and Vrsar.
In the eastern part, as part of another county, there are resorts like Rabac, Opatija. Istria was and still is the most important tourist destination in Croatia, hosting the western and central European visitors. Area is the most visited tourist region with 27% of all visitors and 35% of time spent in all of Croatia.
Read more about this topic: Istria County
Famous quotes containing the word tourism:
“In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion.”
—Robert Runcie (b. 1921)