I've been fortunate enough to have to travel to Istria on business last week. This northernmost coastal region of Croatia is lovely to behold any time of the year, but I found it completely empty of all the tourists. Yes, it seems “Croatian Tuscany” as some like to call Istria, is struggling with off-season tourism, much like us down south.
Most of the historical places on the coast: Pula, Rovinj, Porec, Umag, were all pretty much desolate. Many of the local hospitality businesses were closed. Stone cobbled streets in historical districts were quiet and felt as if they are hiding some horrible secrets. They would make few people traversing them pick up their pace wishing to escape this realm of silence as quickly as possible. The entire thing felt very familiar.
Dubrovnik Region and Istria share many similarities. Both are highly esteemed tourism destinations and both boast wonderful natural resources, picturesque countryside, well preserved historical cities, and great food and wine. However, one major difference is the location. Istria is very close to Italy, Slovenia, Austria, and even Germany, so most of Istrian guests travel there by car. This leaves them free to decide to travel spontaneously and they can do so any time of the year. Meanwhile, our most frequently visiting guests – the British, Americans, Scandinavians, Western Europeans...all fly to Dubrovnik. When major airlines stop their direct flights to Dubrovnik, it pretty much disables our guests from coming over without going through the hassle of many connecting flights. We do get cruise ships, unlike Istria, and while this is not as good as having guests that live 2-4hrs drive away from you, it does make our city a bit more active during off season periods. Still, it seems we are equally inefficient in getting guests to visit during winter.
One thing that struck me while visiting this time is that neither the people of Istria nor Dubrovnik travel much among our two regions, which is a real shame. Istria is a perfect place for someone from Dubrovnik to visit. There is plenty to see and do and much of it is relatable to what we have at home, but different enough to be interesting to explore. Historical cities are wonderful, scattered villages absolutely charming and food and wine is to die for. The people of Istria could love coming to Dubrovnik for practically all the same reasons. Also, travelling like this would give us the perfect opportunity to better exchange experiences and ideas about tourism, hospitality, managing historical sites, and traditional agriculture– all crucial things for both regions.
We Croatians are competitive people and we often mistrust each other. There is a silly trend of rising animosities between the country's north and south and it has to be stopped. Did I say „silly“? I meant „stupid“. It's a very stupid trend and so are the people who support it. Even though we are a small country in size, we have quite a few different regions and it seems to me we simply don’t know enough about each other. We desperately need to explore our country more, so we can appreciate it more. The people of Istria and Dubrovnik would benefit greatly from travelling among these two regions. We would get to know each other a bit better and could enjoy in the best of what these two beautiful parts of Europe have to offer – something that we usually reserve for our international guests. Who knows, we might learn a thing or two in the process.
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Bozidar Jukic, AKA The Restless Native, is a Dubrovnik local with too many interests to name them all, with writing being at the very top of the list. He is a lover of good food, music and film, and a firm believer in the healing power of laughter. His professional orientation is towards tourism and travel so it comes as no surprise he spends most of his time alongside Mrs. Jukic running their own local tour company. Their goal is helping travellers from all over the world get a more intimate experience of Dubrovnik and what it has to offer. To find out more about their work, visit their website or Facebook page.
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