All the serious analyses, saying about the position of Rijeka and the County in Croatia and widely in Europe, end with the conclusion that such a position is very favourable regarding the main streams of people and goods.

 

With regard to traffic and transportation, Rijeka and the County are in zone where the Central European North - South and European West-East directions meet. The first direction has been for years very important for the development of the Port of Rijeka as the most favourable export and import connection place. Because of the continuous growing poverty of real-socialistic Central European countries, this direction has not, at the same time, generally speaking, become a base for a significant tourist  market. It has missed fluctuation of bigger groups of organized tourist customers.

 

Therefore, this direction has largely remained the framework for the cooperation of various economic and business transactions, linked with common interests of cheap transportation. Owing to above mentioned incapability for investments, which has been the characteristic of the countries in the area, this interest has not resulted in the appropriate strategies of capital investments.

 

Inexpensive transportation should be connected with the appropriate production programmes, services and similar activities, aiming to ensure the equipment for the goods which are presented in specific markets. Therefore, the corresponding institutions of international rank have not been founded. For the above described undertakings, some kind of intellectual infrastructure should be established. Actually, this is an area of some open possibilities for investments and business.

 

The second, West-East direction, represents some of the most important ways for tourists going to Mediterranean and Near Eastern countries. This route means a certain entrance from which people continue further to Adriatic and Mediterranean tourist resorts. Such a position gives the city of  Rijeka a double role. At the first place, it is the transit tourist centre, with the chances which are not enough exploited.

 

On the other hand, it is also the regional centre where a lot of people arrive and stop. Afterwards, they go on to other tourist places at the region. This second role of the town can be notably seen in the so called out-of-season periods. Market development deriving from these circumstances has not been sufficiently supported. Thus, for rational investors, there are numerous suitable opportunities at their disposal.