July 9, 2020 - The British Telegraph promoted the Croatian island of Solta and described it as the perfect place to relax after quarantine. Recall, Croatia and the United Kingdom have formed an air bridge, and quarantine will not apply for tourists returning home from Croatia.

Index.hr writes that Telegraph journalist Mary Novakovich,  originally from Croatia, spent some time on the island of Solta and detailed her experience in an article titled, 'The forgotten Croatian island that offers a perfect post-lockdown escape'.

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"It’s an unknown quantity for most British visitors, but is seen by locals as a suburb of Split. If only all suburbs had pebbly coves, olive groves, vineyards, blue-green Adriatic waters and the languid atmosphere that makes the Dalmatian coast so appealing," the article reads.

"People sit in cafes along the waterfront. As I walk, I can smell the restaurant and hear street musicians playing folk music," the journalist wrote.

Novakovich also revealed that she tasted local fish and olive oil and praised the flavors. Although she thought that Solta was a bit deserted, when she came to Stomorska, she realized that it was actually a busy island with many people.

"Still, it is not a crowd that can be compared to the one on Hvar or Brac," she added.

She also said that people kept asking if she belonged to a family from Solta because of her Croatian surname.

“I had to keep repeating that I was originally from Lika,” she explained.

She also admitted that she would exchange the mountains she was used to every day for the sea in Dalmatia.

"The beaches are beautiful. I don't like sand, so I was happy that almost all the beaches on Solta were pebbly or rocky," she added.'

You can read Mary Novakovich's full account on her Solta experience on The Telegraph HERE.

June 19, 2020 - Tourism is on hold, but most of us have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Šolta.

A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of promoting post-corona tourism. 

One of the challenges of writing about tourism at the moment is that there is nothing positive to write about. With people confined to their homes and tourism in Croatia currently not possible, many have decided to go into hibernation until it is all over. 

I think that this is a mistake, and I have greatly enjoyed the TCN series by Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on thinking ahead to tourism in a post-corona world.  You can find Zoran's articles here.

Way back on March 14 - several lifetimes ago - I published an article called Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Zagreb. The way I saw things, now was an OUTSTANDING opportunity for tourism promotion. People have time, they yearn for their freedom and former lives, so give them the tools to thoroughly research and enjoy your destinations, and you will have then longing to be there. And when they do come, they will have a deeper understanding of the destination due to their research. 

South Africa and Portugal were the first to do their post-corona tourism promotion videos several weeks ago (Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Lessons from South Africa and Portugal), a trick which has been followed by other tourism countries, the latest being Croatia with the national tourist board campaign, #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, going live yesterday.

But while these campaigns create longing and market presence, they don't really educate. People now have time to really get into destinations. And dreams of escape to somewhere more exotic are high on the list of priorities of many. 

So TCN has decided to help with that education with a new series called Virtual Croatia, where we will be helping you discover many of Croatia's destinations with all the best virtual tools available on your self-isolating sofa at home. 

We started with Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Hvar.

After this, we put our a press release (which you can read here in English and Croatian) offering a free article to any local tourist board in Croatia who would like the free promotion in our Virtual Croatia series. 

The Sinj Tourist Board was the first to respond, and now you can see just how rich the tourism offer is in this proud Alka town - your virtual tools to Discover Sinj. This was followed by DIscover Opatija, Discover Brela, Discover Rogoznica, Discover Stari Grad, Discover Omis, Discover Lumbarda and Discover Jezera.

Next up, Zorana Kaštelanac of the Šolta Island Tourist Board, who sent us some virtual tools to help us discover the island of Šolta. 

Let's begin! 

Šolta - the Island Closest to Split

Visit Šolta, promo video from 2018.

2014 promo video.

Official video

TCN's own Tash Pericic produced a video about Šolta as well

Meet the wonderful villages of Šolta

Gornje selo

Nečujam

Grohote

Rogač

Maslinica

Discover Šolta as Our Guests See it

A video by the Adriatic Waves 

A 4K video by Ivan Mišak

Find out more about the Hotel, Marina & Restaurant Martinis Marchi on Šolta

Martinis Marchi promo video, 2018

Official Šolta Website & a TCN feature article on Šolta

Download more materials about Šolta from their tourist board website, where you can also discover Šolta's beaches, food and wine and active vacation opportunities. 

25 Things to Know about the Closest Island to Split

When can Šolta expect your visit? 

To discover more of virtual Croatia, you can follow this series in our dedicated section, Virtual Croatia. 

If you are a local tourist board in Croatia and would like your destination featured in this series for free, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Virtual Croatia (and destination name)

June 8, 2020 - A few weeks ago, Index.hr and Dalmatian portal (Dalmatinski portal) published an article which presented some devastating results by analysing the work of tourist boards in Croatia. Pokret Otoka has done something similar. The Solta tourist board stood out in particular...

The person responsible for discovering this "phenomenon" is the British journalist Paul Bradbury, who, with his experiment, once again drew attention to where taxpayers' money actually goes. If you didn't know, Bradbury contacted the Croatian National Tourist Board, which shared the public e-mail addresses of all tourist boards to help them in their business. Namely, they were offered free marketing assistance during these challenging times caused by the COVID-19 crisis, since some budgets were drastically reduced, while some even had their salaries reduced (from 4 to 20%). It is important to point out that the mayor of Sucuraj on Hvar was the only one to react by abolishing the Tourist Board in his municipality until the situation stabilises.

But let’s get back to the published article. Paul sent the offer mentioned above to 319 addresses. Only 26% of them opened the mail, and only 18 of them accepted the offer, not as a percentage but in a total of 18 tourist boards. Surprised by the results, he published his findings in the media and interested the public.

Many questions arise: Why have the employees of tourist boards turned down a great opportunity to have part of their work done for free by an expert, especially since some of them have already had their salaries reduced and their budget for marketing activities has gone down with it? We really wonder, like most of the public, what these individuals are paid for and how tourist boards contribute to their communities, with what results they participate in the overall tourist traffic of the destination, how they promote it and what they will do now when strategic changes are needed such as innovation, digitisation and all sorts of new skills for the general survival of the tourism market?

Here, we want to emphasizse that we do not think that all tourist boards are useless, we don't have accurate and relevant insights into their work, but some individuals were obviously prompted to consider the work of the tourist board on the island of Solta and present their business analysis to the public.

Duje Mihovilović, originally from Solta, made an effort and shared several facts from the publicly announced business plan of the Tourist Board of Šolta for 2019. He is a young, educated person who has been involved in tourism for the last ten years and has the skills of digital marketing, social networking, and the segmentation of new customers. At a time when he sees the market changing and turning to sustainability, quality, natural resources, and local values, customers will be reached with new technologies and digital tools.

“The tourist board promotes the island through social networks, through the Visit Solta platform, which includes Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. The goals of this direct communication with the target groups are an increased number of guests and consumption and an enhanced emotional connection with the destination (brand building). The realisation of the stated goals will be carried out through the activities of managing social network pages in English through the frequent generation of content (photos and videos) and communication with members."

Current status on social networks:

The expected result of the campaign on social networks is an increase in Facebook page followers to 15,000, and 2,500 followers on Instagram and an increase in video views on YT by 15,000. The planned costs for 2019 amount to HRK 60,000.00.

Currently, the Facebook page of TZ Solta has 14,560 followers, out of the planned 15,000 in 2019. Realistically, even then, it was not a challenging number or an ambitious goal, but, unfortunately, it was not achieved half a year after the planned period.

However, looking at communication with target groups makes it clear why the number of visitors is not increasing. Namely, from the beginning of this calendar year until today (June 4), six publications were published, of which the Tourist Board wrote 1 (one!) about Solta. This is a post related to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Other posts are news feeds from other portals. Unlike last year, nothing has changed - in 2019, 14 announcements were published, and the tourist board's employees wrote none of them.

On Instagram, the situation is a little worse than it was last year. They have published four posts since the beginning of the year, but the authors are different people. The number of followers is 2096, and 304 are missing from last year's goal. Considering that half of this year has already passed, on average, their publishing pace is worse than it was last year. In 2019, a total of 21 announcements were published, approximately every seventeen days. This time we will not talk about the quality of posts, the use of #hashtags, or key messages.

Official website:

While doing the analysis, Duje was intrigued by the price of maintaining the website, which costs HRK 10,000 per year. We believe that everyone who runs any company, association, or trade and has a website knows that it is paid once, while maintaining the domain costs several hundred kuna. Of course, some sites need frequent content changes and technical and graphic improvements. Still, this site does not fall into that category, and the only changes it makes are the calendar of events on the island, of which there are many and which appear somewhat confusing. Additionally, even the structure of the page is not an author's original work, but an existing template was used, which cost the creator of the page the equivalent of about twenty dollars.

The Tourist Board of Solta has been employing two people since 2019, who, in addition to their duties, including travel expenses and the presentation of islands at fairs (about which we failed to find an announcement), planned to spend a total of HRK 300,000.

Besides, every year from May to October, four tourist information centres are opened: Maslinica, Rogac, Necujam, and Stomorska. Money amounting to HRK 125,000 is planned for their work, which includes the costs of salaries and offices.

The total planned budget for 2019 amounted to HRK 1,125,000.00, of which HRK 490,000 was planned from the budget of the Municipality of Solta. You can find more details in the document and evaluate the quality and purpose of this island tourist board.

At the end of the presentation, as he sees the whole situation, Duje commented: “Solta doesn't have enough opportunities to develop and it depends largely on tourism, like most other islands do. You, Solta locals, do not exist on that map! The money in this story is being thrown into the wind. In the current situation that has destroyed tourism, your tourist board has done absolutely nothing!”

On the Facebook group "Solta - for each other", the topic resonated loudly. This is a topic that concerns all islands and all islanders. Do we want to discuss it publicly and start to make a change from our city/municipality/village/local board? The crisis that is yet to follow will affect the entire system of the economy and life in general, our future depends on how we're going to act and live in the coming months. And again, the responsibility lies with all of us.

Read here this article in Croatian.

Follow our travel page for more.

ZAGREB, April 12, 2020 - Austrian daily Kurier on Sunday wrote about the Croatian island of Šolta as the second home of Austrian tourists who, because of the COVID-19 epidemic, could not visit it now.

"Our longing has a name, the small Dalmatian island of Šolta which rises to the surface from the infinite deep sea, and because of the coronavirus it is uncertain when it can be visited again," Kurier said.

"The small Croatian island of Šolta between Split and Brač used to be our second home for two to three weeks at the end of summer, and the trip to the island was a special experience and ritual," it added.

Some Austrians booked their holidays on Šolta this year when people did not know about COVID-19. But the outbreak has changed everything and no one knows when normal travel will be restored.

"For now, coronavirus is forcing us to stay home, but this only increases the burning desire to live soon as we lived before," Uwe Mauch wrote in Kurier.

He says Šolta is full of beautiful olive groves, gardens with lemon, orange and fig trees as well as fragrances of lavender, rosemary, laurel, immortelle and other Mediterranean plants.

A unique environment and the smell of the sea, the relaxed and nice southern population, their songs, dishes, wines, customs, walks through orchards and olive groves, and local honey are just some of the specificities of Šolta, Mauch wrote.

It would be beautiful if at the end of the endless tunnel of restrictions caused by coronavirus, it would be possible to visit Šolta again at the end of this summer, he added.

According to the Austrian health ministry, 13,945 Austrians are positive for the virus and 350 have died.

More news about Šolta can be found in the Lifestyle section.

October 31, 2019 - The first phase of the "Livka Bay, Solta Island" tourist resort, valued at almost 509 million kuna, was announced as a strategic investment project of the Republic of Croatia by the Government, at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that it is a private investment project, financed by private capital and prepared for many years by the investor company Azurna uvala d.o.o. based in Stomorska on the island of Solta.

According to Minister of Economy Darko Horvat, this elite tourist resort will include the construction of a five-star hotel with a total capacity of about 100 rooms, with a spa and wellness center, restaurant, cafe, and beach club for hotel guests.

"The project also envisions 29 villas and 23 bungalows, which will be branded by an elite hotel operator, and in the first phase of the project, 250 new jobs will be created,” Horvat said.

The project was first spoken about as a strategic investment back 2016, and earlier this year, director of Azurna uvala Milenko Bijedic, which represents the project investor British investment house Dolphin Capital Investors, said that the project would be completed by 2023, noting that infrastructure work could begin this fall.

He also stated that the total value of the project is estimated at just over one billion kuna, of which 509 million kuna, which was declared strategic for the Republic of Croatia,  refers to the first phase. In April this year, Azurna uvala signed an agreement with the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts, which was also mentioned by Minister Horvat at the Government session.

Azurna uvala was founded in 2005. Bijedic said that the project's biggest challenge is evaluating the infrastructure in Livka Bay, because there is currently no access roads and internal roads, provision of water and electricity with transformer stations, and a wastewater system with all necessary purifiers, in order for construction to begin.

Bijedic also revealed that the actual owner and investor in the project, British Dolphin Capital Investors, is ready for this investment as soon as all the paperwork has been resolved and that so far, 183 million kuna of private capital has been invested in the preparation and development of the project.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

August 4, 2019 - Heritage Hotel Martinis Marchi is already the spotlight of the island town of Maslinica on Šolta. However, there is no brighter spotlight on Martinis than the one lighting up their annual summer party. 

It is a luxury heritage hotel in a quaint island town on the still undiscovered island of Šolta. Just that sentence alone should be enough to have you wanting more. But it gets better. 

Martinis Marchi, the historic castle turned extravagant accommodation, pulls out all the stops for their biggest night of the year - their annual summer soiree. Flaunting a different theme each year, this summer brought us back into the era of dancing queens and disco kings - and Saturday Night Fever swept Šolta for a disco party. 

The night began at the amphitheater where a dance group from Split delighted the crowd with their best 70s moves - from breakdancing to hula hoop tricks and even a guy on stilts!  Members of the crowd couldnt help but join in on the fun!

The crowd then moved from the amphitheater to the hotel, which was decorated in vinyl records, disco balls, and gold streamers. We were greeted with a glass of Mumm champagne before the glow sticks led us to the breathtaking garden area for dinner. 

A setting that coupled the ease of the Mediterranean with a pop of disco flavor,  the rolling hills of the garden were dressed in plush blankets and pillows, the tabletops were adorned with dried figs and juicy apricots, and Galić wines made sure no glass was left empty. 

An Abba cover band played the group’s best hits as we enjoyed a heavenly buffet table featuring everything from lobster spaghetti to prime rib, pašticada to veal risotto, and an unbelievable assortment of smoked meat and Croatian cheese. It was a spread made for royalty - the true disco kings and queens of the world.

During dinner, guests could also choose to partake in a vintage photo booth or have their faces painted in neon colors. 

With full bellies and pink cheeks from the rosé, the party continued in the pool area where Absolute vodka crafted a variety of cocktails served in fancy gold glassware. The after-party entertainment included everything from dancers dressed head-to-toe in neon suits to a fashion show featuring a designer from Zagreb. 

As the drinks continued to flow and the soles on our dancing shoes wore thin, some guests opted for a fully-clothed jump in the pool, while others enjoyed the 1 am “make your own” burger bar. 

It was the best of both worlds, and it was perfect. 

Martinis Marchi has once again thrown the party of the summer, and if you ever get the chance to visit this hotel and town, you won’t be sorry if it's during the first weekend of August. 

The Martinis Marchi annual summer party was sponsored by Sunseeker, Tomić & Co., Plurato Sailfin, Absolut Elyx, Galić, and G.H. Mumm. 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Šolta olive oil has received an impressive new recognition from our friends in the Big Apple. Namely, at the New York International Olive Oil Competition, the Association of Olive Oil "Zlatna Šoltanka" won the "The Best in Class" award as the best oil in the class of environmentally friendly monosortic oil of medium intensity in the world, reports Dalmacija Danas on May 15, 2019. 

Better yet, the "Best in Class" title was received by only 18 olive oils, out of which there were 913 from 26 countries.

“Thus, Šolta olive oil is only and the first from Croatia and Dalmatia, for which we are endlessly proud,” said the president of the Association “Zlatna Šoltanka”, Zlatko Burić.

“It is a great success for Dalmatia, for Šolta, and the “Zlatna Šoltanka" Association - we do not even have to speak - on behalf of our islanders, this is excellent news for all olive growers, farmers and lovers of olive oil,” said Šolta mayor Nikola Cecić-Karuzić.

Recall, this Šolta olive oil also received the protection of origin at the European Union level back in 2016. 

Croatia participated at the contest in New York with 61 olive oils, of which 51 received the gold or silver prize. Croatia has thus once again ranked at the top with the world’s olive oil giants - Spain and Italy.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the largest and most prestigious olive oil quality contest. Its annual list of award winners is the authoritative guide to the world’s best olive oils and the dedicated producers who craft them, reads the NYIOOC website. 

The awards ceremony was held on May 10, 2019, where the best olive oils of 2019 were unveiled at a press conference streamed live from New York. The results of the competition were followed by producers, importers, distributors chefs, food service professionals and journalists around the world, the website continued. 

Zlatna Šoltanka’s distributor Sascha Menesi was the one to break the news to the Šolta association that they not only won the gold medal at the biggest olive oil competition in the world but have been recognized as the best olive oil in the category of medium-intensity ecological monosortic oil. 

“This is for all the hard-working people in Solta!” said Mirjana Kanzler, who represented the "Best in Class" Award winner.

Thus, all islanders and future olive growers can use this premium award as an incentive to engage in the protection of originality and ecological production.

Zlatna Šoltanka is an association made up of 20 olive oil producers from the island of Šolta. They pride themselves on paying particular attention to "superior quality products, environmental protection and development of the local population".

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

If everything goes to plan, the Livka Bay on the island of Šolta will soon welcome the construction of a high-end tourist resort, which includes a five-star hotel. The entire project should be completed by 2023, with infrastructural works beginning this fall, says Milenko Bijedić, head of the company Azurna Uvala which represents the investor in this project, the British investment firm Dolphin Capital Investors, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on April 10, 2019. 

The total value of the entire project is estimated at over one billion kuna, of which approximately 509 million kuna is set aside for the first phase of the project, which is expected to be announced as a strategic investment project, based on Monday’s signed agreement on the preparation and implementation of the project between Azurna Uvala and the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts.

"We announced our project as a strategic one already two years ago, and together with the Operations Group for the implementation of strategic projects, we completed the procedure to enter into the list of the strategic investment projects of the Republic of Croatia. With the new agreement, all the necessary preconditions for initiating the decision-making process of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the designation of this project or its first phase with the strategic project of the Republic of Croatia were created. Now we are in the process of signing contracts with water and other public companies on the island of Šolta and part of Brač because much of the infrastructure is from that island,” says Bijedić.

Recall that the company Azurna Uvala was set up in Stomorska on the island of Šolta in 2005 when the project was first prepared. The company hopes that everything will go a bit quicker today and that the primary project documentation for infrastructure works are done by the summer, and that the construction permits are obtained so that they can be operationally ready to begin in the fall of this year.

"Infrastructure is the biggest challenge because, in the area where the settlement is planned, in the Livka Bay, there is currently nothing, therefore it is necessary to realize access and internal roads, provide the supply of water and electricity, and a wastewater system with all the necessary purifiers, so that we can even begin building the hotel, bungalows and more. We have not had any problems with permits so far, we have respected all the laws and regulations, however, since some have changed from 2005 until now, we have had to adapt the documentation and/or prepare a new one, such as a study on environmental protection. This has slowed down the realization of the project, and it is not very clear why they couldn’t be little more flexible with everything,” explains Bijedić.

The first phase of the project includes a hotel with a total of 109 rooms, a spa and a wellness center, a clubhouse with a restaurant, a cafe bar, a beach club, as well as 29 villas and 23 bungalows to be branded by an elite hotel operator. The realization of this first phase also plans to open up to 250 jobs.

"We already have letters of intent for the four world-renowned hotel chain operators, but it is too early to reveal their names. It is important that the project now complies with the urban planning arrangements and that we agree with HEP on everything because we will need new substations and more for the settlement and the whole project,” says Bijedić.

Bijedić also points out that the real owner and investor in the project is the British firm Dolphin Capital Investors, who is ready for this investment as soon as all papers are resolved. So far, around 183 million kuna of private equity has been invested in the development of the project.

"We consciously and with great will entered the project in 2005, and although we did not think that the realization would take so long, we still firmly believe that the project will end and that the local community and the entire island of Šolta will be the most profitable. It is important for us to support local residents as well as local authorities, with whom we work well with and we will continue to do so,” concludes Bijedić.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 23, 2019 - Summer is coming, but not before we get to enjoy the always pleasant spring season, which also features the opening of Šolta’s prized heritage hotel Martinis Marchi. 

Because the best way to announce your comeback after long winter hibernation is by doing something big, Martinis Marchi has prepared an exclusive wine and culinary evening to announce their return, and we promise this won't be anything like your winter. 

Martinis Marchi

Namely, on April 27, 2019, Martinis Marchi will open another new season with a Wine Tasting and Gala dinner.  In cooperation with Stories - Croatia's unique hotel's association, Martinis Marchi will showcase a group of talented and honored chefs who will craft a lavish 6-course dinner, complimented with the best winemakers from Italy, France, Germany and Croatia.

But this whole gastronomic journey does not just start and end there. As one should have expected, Martinis Marchi will prepare a full-day adventure for guests to ensure they have the chance to embrace every last drop of Šolta island, from its honey and olive oil to wine and fish. 

Martinis Marchi will announce the partners for the event in the coming weeks, though French beverage company Pernod Ricard has signed on as the first, and will present their ever-so-classy G. H. Mumm champagne! 

Martinis Marchi

And it wouldn’t be Martinis March party without some surprises, but we can't go ruining those now. 

If you’re interested in attending the season-opening, be sure to act fast as tickets are limited. Transport will be organized from Split to Maslinica and back, which will also be included in the ticket price. All details about departures will be provided a few days before the event. 

Here are the details of the Wine tasting & Gala dinner event:
1.000 HRK (135€ per person)
There are also desirable daily rates for hotel rooms: 197 EUR per suite for participants of the event (options open for Friday and Saturday).

All other questions can be answered by calling the reception desk at +385 21 572 768.

To reserve a place, visit here or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martinis Marchi

See you in Maslinica!

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

A few days ago, a notice was received by the Municipality of Šolta, the Šolta Municipal Council, the Department for Tourism and Maritime Affairs of Split-Dalmatia County, the State Administration Office in Split-Dalmatia County, the Budgetary Control Service of the Finance Ministry, and the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Split. The notice in question is a detailed report about administrative inspections carried out over the summer, from July 20 to August 20, by inspectors of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, based on a complaint submitted by the Island Movement about illegal activities in granting of concession authorizations, reports Otoci.eu on November 20, 2018.

Although the entire process was initiated after an Island Movement complaint, for unknown reasons the report did not arrive at its address. However, due to its persistence in trying to be informed in a lawful and transparent manner about the process, the Island Movement did eventually receive the document.

Amongst other things, the commission has ordered the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Šolta that it must, within 30 days of the receipt of the report, discuss the findings and conclusions contained in the report, as well as the state of affairs in the maritime domain management sector. However, according to available information, the municipal councillors have not yet received the report nor has a session of the Municipal Council with this item on the agenda been convened. There are just about a dozen days to call the session with the item of agenda. In the meantime, a session of the Council has been convened for Tuesday, November 20, but without this point on the agenda.

Over the summer months, chaos ruled on the island. Catering facilities started operating in May without concession authorizations or with authorizations which were granted illegally. The Maritime Domain Management Plan of Split-Dalmatia County was approved only on May 30 and that was a precondition for granting concession authorizations.

The administrative inspections included:
– regular management of the maritime domain in general use in the area of the Municipality of Šolta;
– the legality of activities of the Concession Authorization Board of the Municipality of Šolta, including the approval of applications and the issuance of concession authorizations;
– charging of fees for concession authorizations granted.

In addition to the administrative oversight of the Concession Authorization Board, the members of the Concession Authorization Board were interviewed. Only a representative of the Split-Dalmatia County had not appeared at the hearing.

Inspections of certain catering facilities were also carried out. The Island Movement does not have any additional information about the results of these inspections.

The use of budgetary funds contrary to the stated purpose and forgery of official documents are just some of the irregularities identified in the process of granting concession authorizations. This is the reason why the commission has requested further measures by the Finance Ministry in order to establish unlawful compensations for concession authorization fees and catering services, and by the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Split for the suspicion of criminal offenses of forgery of official documents.

Time will tell whether this process has touched the very tip of corrupt and illegal activities in the municipality. Given the officially initiated procedures, the Island Movement believes that it is the right time, in the public interest and in order to respect the legal regulations, to re-examine the way how the municipality is run.

This makes it clear that finger-pointing against those who warned about these and similar problems was malicious. The Island Movement hopes that the time it eagerly expects will come, that is that the truth, justice, transparency and legality of public activities will become a rule and not an exception. The Island Movement hopes that the politics on the island of Šolta will become what it should be – an honourable service for the benefit of the people.

Translated from otoci.eu.

For more on the Island Movement, click here.