September 28, 2020 – The tail end of 2020's unparalleled summer offers opportunity for pause, contemplation and appreciation, as it's loyal and not luxury guests that have saved this year's Croatia tourist season.

In this day and age, things always have to get better. There's no room to sit still. Life without improvement is deemed a failure. Nowhere is this more true than the Croatia tourist season.

The numbers of overnight stays in the Croatia tourist season sometimes seem to be the only measure by which its success is judged. Year after year, the numbers must rise. Any decrease is unthinkable. At the same time, hungry eyes still want more. Some want to reposition themselves. A new class of guest is wanted, from faraway nations. They must be of a better quality. They must stay longer, in more expensive dwellings. They must spend more.

Incredible initiatives are undertaken to turn this want into a reality. But, at the end of the 2020 Croatia tourist season, perhaps it's time to pause and reflect. For this year, it is undoubtedly loyalty and not luxury that's saved the Croatia tourist season.

In the year the coronavirus pandemic hit, arrivals by charter plane and cruise ship were seriously curtailed. So much for the flying visits of premium guests from far-flung lands. Instead, the tourists who came were from much closer to Croatia.

The English language that most on the coast are so familiar with was this year useless. On the beaches of Istria and northern Dalmatia, it was Slovenian, Polish, Czech, German, Slovakian and Italian that was heard. The packed bars of Makarska echoed with the familiar call of 'Đe si, bolan?' (where are you, bro? - in Bosnian dialect). Many of those who came drove to Croatia. And many do so every year.

© Jeremy Segrott

Sighs and light-hearted jokes about some of these guests persist in some places. “That family come every year, but they only ever order one pizza to share between the four of them.” The choice of footwear of some German-speaking and Czech visitors frequently draws chuckles, in particular, the classic sock and sandal combo. But, just where would the 2020 Croatia tourist season have been without the 60,000 Czech and Slovak visitors who this year arrived by train?

Just two days ago, Jutarnji reported on phenomenal numbers of Polish visitors this year. Would anyone else really have taken the place of the returning family of four sharing a pizza? Just what would the season in Makarska have looked like without bolan?

Croatians are famously very appreciative hosts. On the ground, there's no doubt that such loyal guests are warmly welcomed and thanked each year by accommodation renters, restaurateurs and others. They greet returning visitors with smiles of familiarity and reserve for them their favourite place. In September 2020, gratitude to such guests was echoed by The Croatian National Tourist Board as they launched a new campaign 'Thank you', directed at the tourists who this year chose Croatia.

Perhaps it is time to ensure that this gratitude extends into any grand new initiatives for growth in the Croatia tourist season? Such loyal guests should not be taken for granted, nor forgotten.

Initiative within the Croatia tourist sector is vital. The unlocking of continental Croatia's potential is simply a must. That too of the Dalmatian hinterland and inland Istria. The exploitation of world-class Croatian assets such as nature, agriculture and health and wellness services are also perfectly on-point. The desire to attract a better class of bigger-spending visitor to luxury holidays on the Croatian coast should surely be a lower priority. After all, eyes that covet can all too frequently fail to appreciate that for which they should already be thankful.

© Oddman47

Lead image adapted from an original photograph by © Marco Verch

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August 16, 2020 - Italian TV reports shocking disregard for social distancing as young Italians go wild on Pag

Italian TV have aired shocking footage showing their young countrymen on holiday. The report, aired on the TG1 segment of Rai Uno TV shows hundreds of island holidaymakers packed into nightclubs as young Italians go wild on Pag. They display a wanton disregard for any social distancing.

One young Italian lady is interviewed and claims there is no more Coronavirus. Another, a male, says he'll get tested upon returning home, although he's not worried because he is young. Perhaps his elderly relatives should be more worried?

Young italians go wild on Pag

After a slow start to the season, scenes from the report appear to show the famous nightlife of Pag now in full swing. With so many holidaymakers from Italy currently enjoying the island, its clubs and the alcohol they serve, it appears it would be a struggle for the venues themselves to enforce social distancing regulations. But, the holidaymakers do not appear keen to take on the responsibility for themselves.

While it makes a change for judgemental TV reports from the Croatian holiday season for once not to feature British youths, this is hardly a matter for amusement; Italy was one of the first European countries hit hard by COVID-19. It took a sustained and painful effort to bring the number of infections down. Italians at home must be watching such scenes with horror. They are terrified of the virus re-emerging at the uncontrollable level seen earlier this year. Already 30 young people who had been on holiday in Croatia this year returned home with Coronavirus infections.

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It looks as though dozens of foreign tourists have found a way to holiday for free in Croatia this summer.