As Morski writes on the 5th of June, 2020, reporters from the Slovakian television station RTVS came to Vir where they worked on a story of the island of Vir, referring to it as a a safe and desirable tourist destination.
In epidemiological circumstances that mostly prevent Slovakian citizens from leaving their country and due to the extremely strict rules when it comes to social distancing and behaviour in Slovakia itself, the trip to Croatia for the RTVS journalist team was like winning a raffle, and staying in Vir was a breath of not only fresh air but of long-awaited freedom of movement.
”Our colleagues in Slovakia are jealous of us because of this trip. They keep asking how it is here, and we tell everyone that Vir is really beautiful,” say reporter Andrej Bálint and cameraman Róbert Beňo, who spent the whole of Thursday filming the island with conversations with Vir locals about the tourist offer on the island and especially the situation with the coronavirus pandemic.
They interviewed the Deputy Mayor of Vir and the Commander of the Vir Civil Protection Headquarters Antonio Vucetic, who introduced the Slovakian journalists to the fact that there were no cases of infected people on the island during the coronavirus crisis, while the director of the Vir Tourist Board, Srdjan Liveric, recommended Vir to Slovakian holidaymakers as a safe and traditionally friendly tourist destination.
”Croatia is the most popular tourist destination for Slovaks, so we were most interested in the current security situation in Croatia. We have very strict measures in place due to coronavirus, they’re almost prison-like, but we expect their gradual easing and the possibility of us being able to go away on holiday. It seems that many Slovaks will stay in Slovakia this summer, but for those who do plan to travel, we want to explore safe destinations. Everyone in Slovakia is living in anticipation of the easing of the measures,” explained Bálint.
The island of Vir is the only Croatian tourist destination that the Slovak journalists will visit during this trip for their field research, but it isn’t a mere coincidence. During the filming of a television report about Slovak women living outside their homeland, in Italy, Sweden, Spain and Croatia, the story of a Slovakian woman and well-known blogger Miriam Kelecic was especially interesting to the television reporters. She introduced Vir as a safe and beautiful destination, so Bálint and Beňo readily responded. This was their first visit to the island, and it was not spoiled even by the blowing of a strong southerly wind.
”The ambience on the island is beautiful, and the sea is especially gorgeous. I’ve never seen such a clear sea,” said Bálint who was delighted to come to Vir.
”I once visited Dubrovnik with my family when I was a small child, so I guess you can sort of say that this is actually my first time in Croatia. I really like Vir, there are a lot of beautiful shots to be taken from the landscape,” added Beňo. Full of impressions from the short trip due to the obligation to return to Slovakia within the given 48 hours, Andrej and Róbert pointed out that the message they will send out to their viewers and compatriots will be a positive one.
”Croatia is a safe destination, so our message will be that Slovaks have no reason to fear about going on holiday here. Vir and Croatia are certainly our choice,” the reporters readily concluded.
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