On Monday in Split, a press conference was held regarding the project “Safe Tourist Season.”
Police Director Marko Srdarević held the press conference with the Split police department and colleagues from Italy where they discussed the many challenges that lie ahead this tourist season. While cooperation between the police departments of the two countries has been excellent, there is always room for improvement, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on July 3, 2017.
Both Italy and Croatia have recorded an increase of tourists year after year, mainly because some of the destinations that were previously enjoyable to guests from Europe are no longer safe, Srdarević said.
"Croatia last year had 15.6 million tourists, while this year expects more than 17 million. We are aware that apart from the beautiful coastline, and historical and cultural attractions, it is imperative to provide guests with safety. And they have had security up until now. The primary objective and challenge of the Croatian police is to maintain that,” added Srdarević.
The project “Safe Tourist Season” is one of the many activities undertaken by the police, which has been implemented since 2006 in cooperation with police from 17 countries around Europe. Through the Safe Tourist Season project, cops come to Croatia from countries that have the most guests visiting Croatia during the tourist season and work together with Croatian police officers in the uniforms of their country.
"This year, there will be a total of 72 police officers from 18 countries, including 9 Italian police officers. This is an excellent project which is proven by the fact that it was implemented by the police of Italy, Austria, Slovenia, and Montenegro,” Srdarević stressed, with hopes that they want to continue the project and expand it as much as possible.
The Director of Public Security of the Italian police, Franco Gabrielli, said that the most important thing for Italian tourists on vacation in Croatia is that they feel safe because we live in stressful times where safety is of primary importance.
"Croatia is a safe country, and we want Italian tourists in Croatia to see just how safe they are when they see their police officers who will assist them if something happens," said Gabrielli.
Assistant Chief Police Director and Chief of the Police Administration Krunoslav Borovec stated that this is the most successful project of the Croatian police where both citizens and tourists have reacted positively while receiving quality police service. He noted that foreign police officers communicate with visitors when they get into trouble, which is crucial for Croatia as a tourist destination.
“The Ultra Europe music festival will begin in Split very soon, during which there will be tens of thousands of foreigners coming to Poljud. This will be a lot of work not only for the Croatian police but also for foreign police officers who will assist in ensuring that everything goes well,” said Borovec.
He noted that several meetings were held with representatives of the US Embassy regarding Ultra and that this year there will also be representatives of US security services. In addition, Split police officers will be assisted by colleagues from the Intervention Police from other parts of Croatia.
Split will have a considerable amount of police officers on the streets this season, said Borovec, and according to the information the police has received from foreign partners, the largest number of visitors to Ultra will be coming from England.
