ZAGREB, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Pre-season tourism in Croatia this year has seen a five-percent growth compared to the last season, Croatian news agency HINA reported on Tuesday.

The latest numbers suggest that there is still a very high touristic demand for Croatia, Kristjan Stanicic, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, told HINA.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli told reporters on Monday that he predicts another successful tourist season in Croatia. "At the moment, Croatian tourism is good. We have many reservations for autumn as well, and we will finish the year with three percent growth compared to 2018," Cappelli said after meeting Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Zagreb.

Last year was a very successful tourist year for Croatia, with the record-breaking 19.4 million visitors. It was 6.5 percent more than 2017. Overnight stays, a key measure in tourism, were also up by four percent (106 million).

This year is the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and Croatia. Many joint activities have been undertaken to promote the two countries. The number of Chinese tourists in Croatia has significantly increased in the last few years.

According to Croatia's Ministry of Tourism, in 2018, 234,100 tourists from China visited Croatia and generated 344,000 bed-nights, which is an increase of 46 percent compared to 2017. Similar positive trends are expected to continue in 2019.

Last year, for the first time ever, Croatian tourism revenue was over 10 billion euros (11.2 billion U.S. dollars). The tourism sector in Croatia accounts for around 17 percent of the country's GDP, among top European countries by the share of tourism in GDP.