May 19, 2020 — Fires, murder, drugs, and general embarrassment did not slow the pulsating club scene at Pag’s Zrće Beach. Then came the coronavirus.
The pandemic may halt the annual flock of thousands of party-goers streaming to the Zrće’s clubs, spending about €120 a day while renting accommodations in the nearby town of Novalja, according to locals. The partiers spend close to €100 million annually, helping make it the richest town per capita in the country.
“This was supposed to be a record tourist season, but we are now aware that it will be one of the most demanding,” said Marina Šćiran Rizner, director of the local tourism board.
She predicted a 75 percent drop in overall activity. The 1.7 million overnight stays from 2019 are a mythical memory. The town’s events list is empty. For now.
Some locals see a chance to step away from Zrće’s homogeneous club tourism niche, which disturbs life in Novalja as much as it fills wallets.
The lack of visitors could wipe out about 1,500 jobs in the clubs alone, as well as employees at ancillary businesses, according to Boris Šuljić, owner of the club Kalypso. He predicted a 90 to 100 percent drop in party-centric guests.
Yet it seems a worst-case scenario is inevitable. Zrće’s club-dependent model, from top to bottom, reads like an epidemiologist’s worst nightmare. Bodies flying in from all corners of the world, invading personal space for prolonged periods of time while consuming a host of chemicals which may weaken the immune system. It reads like the coronavirus’s ideal vacation.
Battling the pandemic requires social distancing, anathema to a business model built upon grinding up in close quarters, invading personal space while waiting for the beat to drop.
Many of the party mecca’s guests will likely remain marooned at home, with travel restrictions and fewer cheap flights connecting nearby Zadar to the rest of Europe.
Those seeking an alternative to Ibiza can immediately look elsewhere. The large festivals which helped develop Zrće’s reputation… Hideout, Fresh Island, Spring Break, and Sonus? Canceled. Canceled. Canceled. And canceled. All rescheduled to 2021, assuming researchers will find some solution for the pandemic.
“Zrće is a tourist product that completely depends on mass gatherings and our hands are tied there because such gatherings are not allowed,” said tourism board director Šćiran Rizner.
The lack of guests will radiate to non-clubbing activities, such as sports and concerts, which were supposed to enrich an otherwise-slow shoulder season. All that is in jeopardy, Šćiran Rizner said.
Some of the larger clubs with capacity in the thousands, such as Noa, Aquarius, or Papaya debate whether to open at all.
“It depends what protection measures will be in force, and the clubs on Zrće cannot function in such a way that guests keep a distance of two meters,” Šuljić said. “Quite simply, keeping a distance and implementing other measures that are still in place, for now, does not go with that kind of lifestyle and fun.”
Zrće’s club scene has a maximum capacity of around 12,000. If border policy, epidemiological restrictions, and economic factors mean only a fraction will arrive, owners may not even bother opening, Šuljić added.
Any group of exuberant young adults which does reach Pag will discover the island’s Bura-swept moonscape surface, some livestock, cheese, quiet beaches, and a hasty attempt to replace them.
Rather than lament a potential total loss, some locals see a chance to diversify away from the party scene.
The Tourism Board Director Šćiran Rizner said Novalja’s 90,000 private accommodations mostly housed partygoers and will feel a hit. But camps may flourish, after welcoming one-third of Novalja’s overnights last year. Camp Straško, the largest in town with a capacity of 6,000, is seeing a rise in reservations from Germany and Austria as travel restrictions ease.
Guests will also stay longer.
“For years, the trend has been to visit as many destinations as possible during the holidays, with shorter periods of stay in each of them,” Šćiran Rizner said. “Now, due to the epidemic, this is no longer the case and guests book accommodation for fifteen or twenty days, where the average was eight days.”
Novalja has also made inroads into nautical tourism and pushed a stronger gastronomic offering. Mayor Ante Dabo sees this party interruption as a case for shoring up other sectors of the travel economy.
“We are working on the development of outdoor tourism, nautical tourism, gastronomic offers and all other types of tourism, because now, in this epidemic and crisis, it has been shown how dangerous this monoculture of youth tourism is,” he said.
