PRELIMINARY data from the nation's central bank (NBS) indicates that Slovakia's foreign exchange (FOREX) revenues from tourism reached Sk17 billion (€439.7 million) in the first half of 2005, representing a strong 42.1 percent growth year-on-year.
On the other hand, the FOREX expenditures of Slovaks travelling abroad increased 19 percent year-on-year, to Sk12.2 billion (€315.6 million), the SITA news agency wrote.
In the first six months of 2005, 12 million foreigners arrived in Slovakia, which is a 9.8 percent growth year-on-year. The biggest increase was registered at the Slovak-Hungarian border crossing (up 30.4 percent), and on the border with Austria (up by 13.4 percent).
