Croatia. “Such tourists should be severely punished.” Residents say: enough

The portal of the daily newspaper “Poslovni dnevnik” noted on Wednesday that Croatia is one of seven European countries that have introduced measures to prevent overtourism. Dubrovnik, a popular tourist destination, has implemented measures that include banning swimsuits, driving without a special permit, eating and drinking near historic monuments, and climbing the city walls.

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But the large number of visitors means disruptions not only in places known from guidebooks. Croatian media regularly report on traffic jams on motorways and other roads, especially during weekends. They most often form before the entrances to toll motorways leading to the south of Croatia, towards the Adriatic coast.

Due to the increased tourist traffic on the roads, a dangerous trend of organizing picnics or football matches has emerged – Drago Bukovčak from the Zagreb Police Headquarters said on Nova TV on Wednesday. – There are no places for pedestrians on motorways; this (organizing picnics and matches there – ed.) is dangerous and prohibited by law – he emphasized, announcing police actions. Fines for pedestrians traveling on motorways in Croatia are 60 euros (approx. PLN 260 – ed.).

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The interest in holidays on the Adriatic is also affecting the quality of life of the residents of the local resorts. In July, the Croatian civic initiative Tenants Together launched an online petition demanding the elimination of apartments for rent in multi-family buildings, the Index portal reported at the end of last month. As the petition emphasizes, these apartments are offered to tourists en masse, as a result of which Croatians are facing a housing shortage.

“YES to removing apartments from multi-family buildings, NO to mass tourism” – appealed the initiators of the petition. The initiators of this undertaking argue that the quality of life of young people who cannot find a flat is deteriorating due to the division of buildings into small apartments offered to tourists. “We appeal to all those who suffer from mass tourism and want to change our country for the better” – appealed representatives of the Tenants Together movement.

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The initiators of this social campaign assessed that “the excessive division of buildings into small apartments is illegal, violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to a peaceful, dignified and inviolable family home and violates a number of (other) regulations”.

“We expect a response from the ministries responsible for tourism, spatial planning, housing and demography and we call on (these ministries) to unify their policies and implement specific changes as soon as possible. In this way, residents will return to city centers, and young people will have the opportunity to stay in the country, where they would rent or buy apartments for themselves and their future families,” we read in the appeal.

“Mass tourism is strangling Croatian cities and towns, where tourists – by showing disrespect for our culture – are sending a message to the world that in Croatia everyone can behave as they please. Such tourists should be severely punished,” Tenants Together emphasized.

According to the latest Eurostat data, Croatia is the European Union country most dependent on tourism, generating 11% of its GDP from this sector. GDPThe average in EU member states is 4.5%. Last year, the country with a population of just under 4 million was visited by 20.6 million tourists, according to information on the website of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ).

At the end of May this year, HTZ announced that in the months preceding the tourist season Croatia was visited by 3.4 million tourists – that's 10 percent more than last year. Among them, over 400 thousand. Germansalmost 350 thousand Slovenians and over 110 thousand Poles.

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