Perhaps the reward will come in the form of membership in the World Trade Organization or another economic boost. Some believe the airstrikes scared off even more potential visitors than Croatia's own battles and the 1992-95 war in neighboring Bosnia. A trickle of foreign tourists have arrived since the bombing ended. But high-rise hotels erected in Dubrovnik since communist times appear no more than a third full, mostly with Croatian guests. Croatian media say business is down 20 to 25 percent from 1998, when tourism was only two-thirds of prewar levels.
Tourists looking for bargains, however, can find some here.
A few hotels have cut prices. And in Dubrovnik, restaurant owners in the medieval walled city send hawkers out to snare tourists at meal times. But Croatia needs a year without war in the region to bring in real crowds. Tourism Minister Ivan Herak claims the government is preparing a whole new strategy for next year - more investments, more aggressive promotion, more tourists. But it's all over now.