bauhauswerk

Dear Coilers, these days I’ve used, together with resting on my vacation, to talk to people from the tourism and hospitality industry.

As tourism and hospitality are my specialization in economics, I am always interested in talking to colleagues, learning about recent situations and trying to foresee the future of the industry.

Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries and places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure.

Tourism is very special branch of the economy as it gathers many other within; transportation, agriculture, fashion industry, sports equipment production, shipbuilding, financial industry... Even photo/video industry depends on tourism pretty much.

Nikon and Canon don’t live of professionals buying their gear. They live of consumers buying cameras and lenses to shoot their travel and family photos. Think out of the box, they also live of tourism! GoPro and other action cameras are widely used during vacations. Majority of users, 8/10 I know, use their cameras, gimbals and other gear within those week or two of their trips and are back in the box throughout the rest of the year.

I could list countless examples now but I’m sure you got the point.

Tourism is export too. “Silent export” as we call it.

Tourism is trade; tourism is export. As a key sector in many developing countries, tourism makes a significant contribution to raising socio-economic growth and foreign exchange earnings. It involves the buying and selling of services and goods, with compensation paid by a buyer (the visitor) to a seller. Tourism is an export sector. It is a source of foreign exchange earnings; it grows a countryʻs national output.

We made The United States independent to make British be foreign visitors, no other reason! – Thomas Jefferson

When foreign visitor eats a dinner in a restaurant, rents a car and fills it with gas, buys a souvenir and gets himself new pair of flip flops, it can be observed as those goods and services were bought by him online and sent abroad. Money flows from the country of origin of the visitor and ends in the country he travels to. State and local taxes are payed, jobs generated...

Latest annual research shows the Travel and Tourism sector experienced 3.5% growth in 2019, outpacing the global economy growth of 2.5% for the ninth consecutive year. Over the past five years, one in four new jobs were created by the sector, making Travel and Tourism the best partner for governments to generate employment.

In 2019, travel and tourism’s direct, indirect and induced impact accounted for:

US$8.9 trillion contribution to the world’s GDP

10.3% of global GDP

330 million jobs, 1 in 10 jobs around the world

US$1.7 trillion visitor exports (6.8% of total exports, 28.3% of global services exports)

US$948 billion capital investment (4.3% of total investment)

Country I come from, Croatia, is one of the leading tourist countries in the impact of the industry on the GDP.

25% of total economy, 383.500 jobs (25,1%), 38,6% of total exports (in visitor spend) depend on tourism...

Or at least they were depending on it because...

...

Now we came to the topic of this paper, The Future!

Talking to the manager of a hotel on the Island of Mljet I booked, I’ve learnt a lot about the present situation.

The hotel is a part of the Adriatic Luxury Hotels chain (ALH), which is based on 5 stars hotels and luxury villas in Dubrovnik, with this hotel on the Island of Mljet as the only of 11 which is not Dubrovnik based.

Dubrovnik is The pearl of the Adriatic and Mediterranean, the most expensive Croatian city, visited by the Creme de la Creme of world’s billionaires as well as commons who want to experience the beauty and history carved in its ancient stonewalls. (OK, many come to see King’s Landing from the GoT)

This season, the first of their hotels opened the doors as late as May 25, working with just half of their capacity in the heart of the season.

They have employed only 2 (two) seasonal workers this year (hundreds in standard years), covering the needs with their full time employees.

Hotel on Mljet had 100% capacity booked for 2 weeks only (1st half of August) while in normal situation they would be fully booked from the end of May to the end of September.

Even thou Croatian statistics are great compared to other countries, expecting about 50% of last years numbers...

...the situation is a total disaster!

Planned investments and renovation within the chain are postponed. It will be direct lose of one year for their business as well as for the construction companies which were to be contracted.

Most of their (and generally in Croatia) seasonal workers come from the Slavonia County on the nort east of Croatia which is one of the poorest parts of the country. The money they earn working the season on the coast makes them live thru the rest of the year. Not just the workers but their families too. Many of them are students who pay expensive rents in Zagreb together with their tuitions, books, food... Next academic year will be a hell for them if they manage to attend it at all.

But let’s move away from “the tourism jewel” to the real life. Over 65000 households offer private accommodation in Croatia. To some it is a side income but to many it is the only income. Many took loan to invest in their capacities and will not be able to service the debt, not even interest, not to talk about the loan principal...

If the COVID situation extends to 2021, which it most probably will, almost 10% of Croatian population will literally starve. Indirectly it could (will) involve much more.

Croatian situation can be applied to all other countries with tourism as a primary (or one of the major) economy sector, with even worse perspective.

Greece earned US$ 22 billion from tourism last year. They expect 4 billion this year in optimistic predictions! 850000 jobs and 20,8% of their total economy is depending on tourism which had 12,1% of growth last year(!!).

Over 80% drop will be almost impossible to compensate.

My predictions are not too bright;

- I see many of the private accommodation apartment buildings and villas being offered on sale which will impact the real estate prices in negative way.

- Future investments will drop to almost zero.

- Local budgets will be halved so planned infrastructural projects will be postponed too.

- Most of the small businesses which work thru the whole year will be closed in highly tourist dependent communities.

- GDP drop will be strongly impacted by low numbers of the season so the central states will have to decrease spendings which usually generate great portion of GDP.

- Not just economic recession but the Great Depression is inevitable.

- The rich will get it all for less.

COMMONS ARE DOOMED!

Thanks for reading,

Srdan

REFERENCES:

- International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 – UNWTO and United Nations

- International Trade Center – UNWTO

- World Travel & Tourism Council

- Oxford Economics

- Adriatic Luxury Hotels

- Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia

- Hellenic Statistical Authority

- Thomas Jefferson’s unknown quotes by Srdan Vocanec

Dear Coilers, Croatian Adriatic coast and islands are full of small places, towns and villages, which throughout the year are peaceful settlements with just few dozens of people but during the summer months they become packed with tourists who want that piece of peace.

One of those places is Pomena, a small settlement on the west coast of the Island of Mljet, about 29km from Sobra port and 5km from Polace, the closest more lively place on the island.

The population of 50 swells considerably in summer when tourists pour in to visit the Mljet National Park. Many stay in the Hotel Odisej (the only hotel on the island) or in one of the many rooms and apartments for rent along the harbour.

Despite the seasonal influx, Pomena is very much the fishing village; except for the accommodation and a few restaurants, nobody would guess that it is the center of the Island’s tourism.

With about 300 beds in a hotel and maybe 150 more in private apartments, the population during the summer is 10 times the population during the rest of the year.

If you want to rest and enjoy the nature untouched by the tourism industry, to feel the real Mediterranean as it once was, you should look for the places like Pomena.

I myself love my Croatian summers to be like that. Calm, peaceful, restful...

With the sounds of sea, crickets, seagulls, wind and waves.

With the smells of pine, lavender, myrtle and rosemary, with hints of brine and fresh breeze from the open sea.

Those places are real time machines, which all of us need every now and then.

Do I have to mention that the local food is among the best you can have?! Fresh fish from the sea in front of you and the fresh vegetables from the fields behind. All organic and tasty.

Internet connection?! Hmm, don’t expect much, but don’t make yourself need much either. You are there to rest and forget about the world around this microcosmos. Always remember that soon you’ll go back to the everyday chaos, so enjoy the days while you can.

Life really can be beautiful...

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=388269499930903750

thanks for reading and watching,

Srdan

Dear Coilers, I’ve shown you Mljet National Park with its two lakes, the Small and the Great one. The attraction on the Great Lake asks the article of its own as it is the great example of the cultural heritage of the Island of Mljet and Southern Dalmatia, all placed on the small Isle of Saint Mary.

There is a Benedictine monastery with the Church of Saint Mary on the Isle of Saint Mary situated in the southern part of the Great Lake. The area of the isle is 1.2 acres (0.5 hectares).

The monastery was being built from 1177 to 1198. Initially, the Benedictines built the monastery and later on they have built the church. During centuries, the church changed its appearance under the influence of different styles, the Renaissance and Baroque, but the central part remained Romanesque.

The Church of Saint Mary as part of the monastery compound is a single nave Romanesque (Apulian) construction, built after the original Benedictine’s building in Monte Gargano.

The church was partitioned and extended in the 16th century when the coat of arms of Gundulić family was installed on the porch. On several occasions, alterations were made in the Romanesque monastery.

At present time, the building is a two-floor Renaissance building enclosed with courtyards on two sides and having arcaded main tract facing the courtyards. A defensive tower was built in the south-eastern corner therefore all the buildings, including the church, became defensive structures. The monastery was also reconstructed during the Renaissance, thus creating a uniform complex with the church.

History of the monastery extends as far as 1198 when the Pope Innocent III issued a document consecrating the Church of Saint Mary on the isle of the same name in the Great Lake on the island of Mljet.

The Benedictines organised the monastery in accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict. For a long time, the Benedictines were taking a good care of the island and lived in harmony with nature praising God. Many significant names, like Mavro Vetranović and Ignjat Đurđević, could be found among the Benedictines of the monastery. In 1345, the Benedictines renounced their rule over a part of the island therefore Mljet obtained a Statute and municipality in Babino Polje. Formally, it was annexed by the Republic of Ragusa in 1410.

The monastery continued with its activities until 1809, when it was closed during the rule of Napoleon. From that time on, the island had a number of different owners; the monastery property was governed by the state, and the monastery became more and more neglected. In 1960, the monastery was converted into a hotel and was opened until 1991. In 1998, the dilapidated monastery was given back to the Diocese of Dubrovnik. Renovation and redecoration works are currently ongoing.

I have taken some 120 video shots on the sight with a plan to make a short documentary about it. Here I will post a short video with just few clips as a teaser... hopefully I’ll finish it and publish exclusively on Cinnamon.

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=386181052906865916

Dear Coilers, in this one I’ll say a bit more about Mljet National Park. Thou about 1/3 of the island is NP, including the place I’ve booked a hotel at, what we mostly consider under the National Park are 2 salt lakes and the area surrounding them.

The entrance ticket costs only 125HRK which is about 20USD and includes 7 days entrance for the guests staying within the Park area, rides with electric train and boats (one, the oldest one, is diesel powered) and one boat ride to the Island of St Mary on the Great Lake.

Swimming is allowed in both lakes. I’ve did it on several locations on both lakes and I can say that the best point for swimming is the island of St Mary. The Great Lake is much more clear and has more salty water than the small one.

The Great Lake also hides big jellyfishes, up to 1 meter in diameter, but don’t worry, as all lake creatures, those hide in the deepest waters.

Geographically, Mljet is located in the open sea on the southeast Adriatic. Its location determines clime and vegetation on the island which is famous by its natural heritage: lakes, bays, sources of drinking water, steep and rocky coast, preserved forests of holm oak tree and aleppo pine, caves, sandy coves...

Those are some of the reasons why in 1960. northwest part of the island, with its area of 3000 ha, became a National Park, the Institution for preserving natural heritage was founded in the same year.

Mljet National Park is the most important protected area of the Dalmatian south. It is the oldest National Park at the Croatian coast.

The park covers the part of the island which many regard as the most alluring in the Adriatic, full of lush and varied Mediterranean vegetation. The park includes two deep bays which, due to their extremely narrow links with the sea, are regarded as and indeed named lakes: the Great Lake and the Small Lake.

Mljet is also very rich in cultural heritage, the most prominent example being the complex of the 12th century Benedictine monastery. The monastery is located on a small island in the middle of the Great Lake and is set in a lush park.

Over the course of centuries, numerous chronicles, dissertations and other literar works have been written here. Located within the monastery is the church of St Mary, old Roman ruins, old graveyard and chapels, olive grove...

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=385461772099782312

(2:48 video of Mljet National Park)

Thanks for reading and watching,

Srdan

Dear Coilers, this one is not going to be the post you would expect.

Though Mljet is an outstanding tourist destination with National Park and its salt lakes and natural anchorage bays and gulfs, not so long back in the past, it was strategic military point.

One of the most interesting sights is abandoned military area which was defending the land from the sea invasions.

Artillery battery of the JNA (Yugoslav People’s Army) was a coastal battery on the island of Mljet, on the Goli Rat, in more detail on the peninsula / branch of the island – the Sparožni Rat.

There were 4 cannons on the rails, and only one remained, which has no cover, but moves neatly up and down, left and right.

Unfortunately there is not much data about the sight as it was strongly protected military zone, but the strategic importance of its position and the fact it was carved in the rock, tells that it was not just a plain check point.

To give you idea how it looked and about the size of the underground complex, I have entered the abandoned tunnels and researched them.

I was a bit afraid at first as I didn’t know what to expect inside, but after a short time it was kind of fun to rumble the dark, humid and spooky sight.

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=384766023846331749

Dear Coilers, today I’ve made some photos of flora on the island when going back to hotel from a researching trip to the place I’ll cover in the post tomorrow.

Due to its unique original beauty, the Island of Mljet meets all the criteria and rightfully bears the title of National Park. Mljet is the largest Croatian southern Dalmatian island, and is located near Dubrovnik, Korcula and the Peljesac peninsula.

Due to the very mild Mediterranean climate and soil composition, lush vegetation has developed on Mljet, which occurs in two basic forms: Aleppo pine and evergreen Holm oak forest (Quercia ilex), and anthropogenically degraded forms of vegetation, which include maquis, garrigue and rocky vegetation.

Beauty of Mediterranean flora is eye catching and when you start noticing small plants growing by the macadam roads, from the rocks or by the sea line on the coast, you will never be able to pass by them again without stopping to admire them...

Enjoy

August 10

7:26 (Catamaran in Split Port)

Dear Coilers, as you could already read, I’ve left Zagreb yesterday at 23:55.

The ride was as expected, with 20 minutes piss stop at legendary “Macola” restaurant and motel in Lika County.

Lika is nothing but the large empty space between Central (Continental) Croatia and Dalmatia. 5353 sq km and just 50000 inhabitants, of which, most probably, 70% are grandpas and grannies of 70 years of age and older.

But Lika is not for nothing. There are “Plitvice Lakes” National Park, amazing place. It is my favourite Croatian National Park. Pure beauty. Absolute must see. Lika is also known for its spit roast lamb. And cheese which creaks while you chew it. There are bears 🐻 in Lika too. Many of them.

Came to Split at 5am and took a short walk to the Diocletian’s Palace, the old part of Split.

Diocletian Palace, built around 300AD, is one of the best preserved monuments of the Roman architecture in the world. The Emperor's Palace was built as a combination of a luxury villa – summer house and a Roman military camp (castrum), divided into four parts with two main streets. Southern part of the Palace was, in this scheme, intended for the Emperor's apartment and appropriate governmental and religious ceremonies, while the north part was for the Imperial guard – the military, servants, storage etc. The Palace is a rectangular building (approximately 215 x 180 meters) with four large towers at the corners, doors on each of the four sides and four small towers on the walls. The lower part of the walls has no openings, while the upper floor is open with a monumental porch on the south and halls with grand arch windows on the other three sides. Over the centuries the Palace inhabitants, and later also the citizens of Split adapted parts of the palace for their own requirements, thus the inside buildings as well as the exterior walls with the towers significantly changed the original appearance, but the outlines of the Imperial Palace are still very visible.

Whenever I am in Split and have some time for a walk, I go and rumble the old streets and soak the atmosphere of the ancient city, with the Cathedral of St. Domnius and magnificent Peristyle.

Of all the places I haven’t visited, Split is the most beautiful – Thomas Jefferson

Cathedral of Saint Domnius

Among the European cathedrals the one in Split finds its seat in the oldest building – the Mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Inside the cathedral, at the end of the second millennium, the history reconciles ancient pagan, Christian Medieval and modern heritage. Mausoleum of the Emperor – persecutor of Christians becomes a cathedral in the 7th century where altars with relics of St Domnius and St Anastasius, martyrs executed in the nearby Solin, take an honorary place.

Peristil

Peristyle, as the central square of the Palace, intended for the Emperor Diocletian celebrated as the living son of Jupiter, finds its place among many temples. The Emperor would appear under the architrave of the central part of Protyron, and his subjects would approach him, kneeling down, kissing the hem of his scarlet cloak, or they would fall in front of him, their entire body to the ground.

The red colour of the granite columns emphasises the ceremonial function. Namely, ever since the Emperor Diocletian the colour purple became the imperial colour.

Split is pure beauty, see it for yourself...

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=383305531214791990

Anyway, the time passes and after a short coffe break in a bar in the Split Port, Catamaran is boarded and we set sail to Mljet.

Catamaran has a route from Split to Dubrovnik with stops in Milna on the Island od Brač, in Hvar on the island of Hvar, Korcula on the Island of Korcula and Pomena on the Island of Mljet in which the crew will kick me out of the boat.

https://www.cinnamon.video/watch?v=383285068312872208

Ending this part of the blog now an will let you enjoy in a short video of the ride. Im gonna have a nap now... till later...

21:43 (Hotel bar in Pomena, Mljet)

Had a dinner after some time in short research of the Mljet National Park with swimming in both, the Adriatic Sea and the salt lake in the park but those will be covered in days to follow.

The Internet connection is awful here, I’m even thinking about trying to connect through the telephone booth as it would be much faster...

22:45

Finished at last...

I’m exhausted and going to bed now. Hope to wake up early tomorrow and spend a day in a Mljet National Park, thou as a fact, Pomena and the hotel is located in it.

Few more photos for the subscribers to enjoy.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Dear Coilers, you might have been watching my vlog about Booking com idiotic pricing policy and all that stuff...

...anyway, the room is booked, the bus and catamaran tickets bought and now waiting for Sunday night to set sails.

Will leave Zagreb at around midnight on Sunday and take a ride to the city of Split, capital of Split-Dalmatian County and the second biggest Croatian city.

Here I wanted to tell you about the area I travel to. About the mentality of it.

Purgers (citizens of Zagreb) hate Donkeys (Split peasants) and vice versa. Zagreb accent can bring you a good punch in the head and black eye if you are lucky, hospital full board for a week if you are not.

No matter I’m half Dalmatian, I declare myself as a Purger and I’m proud to be a member of a family which inhabits Zagreb for 5 generations (I rightfully can call myself a Purger!). In the same time I don’t hide nor deny my (half) Dalmatian roots, I just don’t feel as one, thank God.

If you are a Dalmatian, you have to support Hajduk Split Football Club, Split Whites. It doesn’t matter if you are 97 years old illiterate granny who doesn’t know the football rules, you just support it.

I myself LOVE Dinamo Zagreb Citizens Football Club, Zagreb Blues, part of the history of which was my late grandfather. I was a Bad Blue Boy (Dinamo hooligan) in my days. I would rather die than support Hajduk.

Even if had a gun pointed to my forehead with a finger on the trigger I’d stay Blue!

It is the North Vs South thing. It is not only football, if at all. It is politics, history, mentality, ethics, culture...

We, Zagrebians, are calm, polite, noble, sophisticated, open minded, gentlemen, thou nazis in WWII...

...and Dalmatians are loud, inpolite, rude, lazy, stubborn, backwards, thou antifascists back then.

To picturesquely explain it to you, I’ll quote Thomas Jefferson who had once written:

The HATE is a miracle, the hardest things which people are able to do are driven by the kerosene of hate. Look at Purgers, for example. The people of Zagreb hate Split's Donkeys so much that they are able to organize a whole big gay pride parade, five thousand homosexuals and homosympathizers are able to gather to march, sing, hug and kiss in the middle of the city, without a single incident, just to harm and humiliate the people of Split who were embarrassed in front of the world for stoning the parade.

So that everyone can say that Split is a xenophobic septic tank, and Zagreb is a civilized European city, wide, open and airy.

No one to throw a stone at gays! No banner, no bottle, no Molotov cocktail, no firecracker, no hand grenade, no dead, not even wounded. They even applaud them. Applaud! Five thousand fagots walk through the center of the city, and the people of Zagreb wave and applaud, as if Slavko Kvaternik (Croatian military general and politician who was one of the founders of the Ustaša movement of the Nazi puppet state in WWII) was riding through the square on a white horse, not a homosexual on a homosexual.

And you can exactly see on their faces how they are mocking the people of Split. Even the Bad Blue Boys disguised themselves in polite citizens, sat on bars’ terraces and applauding gay parades!

That story tells the whole truth about the 2 poles of the same nation.

So I’m going to the South, to one of the most beautiful parts of the world. But as always, God gives you something but takes something back. Equilibrium is important.

The Museum of Military History examines the history of the Habsburg Monarchy from the end of the 16th century to the end of the monarchy in 1918, as well as the subsequent years up until 1945. The museum mainly focuses on the role of the army and military history on the high seas.

History of warfare and the military, technology and science, art and architecture are all merged into one in the Museum of Military History. The building alone is phenomenal: the museum was built between 1850 and 1856 under the plans of Ludwig Förster and Theophil Hansen as a centerpiece of the Arsenal military complex. It is therefore the oldest museum in the city. The architects had already anticipated the style of the Ringstrasse: it is dominated by the Moorish-Byzantine and neo-Gothic styles.

The museum’s main focus is the history of the Habsburg Monarchy up until its disintegration in 1918. In one hall, visitors can see the automobile in which Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne, and his wife were shot in 1914, the Archduke’s blood-soaked uniform jacket and the chaise longue on which he died. In the Franz Joseph Hall are several personal objects which belonged to the Emperor and his son, Crown Prince Rudolf. Additional rooms are dedicated to Prince Eugene, Maria Theresia and numerous wars which Austria fought in (often unsuccessfully). A centerpiece of the collection is the so-called “Marine Hall”: an exhibition on Austria’s history as a naval power. What many people do not know is that when Austria still had access to the seas, it was a major naval power for over 200 years.