It’s hard to get people’s attention these days, especially when you are trying to deliver important information about safety. On June 2, 2017, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service wrote safety advice for tourists and it just may be the best tourist announcement ever.
Having worked in tourism, I can say that often times people really do switch off their brains and common-sense when they switch into holiday mode. The topic of safety on mountains and the job of mountain rescuers is definitely no laughing matter; yet sometimes, this is exactly how you get a response.
For the second year in a row, the commission for information and analysis of Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, has created, dare I say it, the greatest tourist announcement ever. The advice was posted yesterday and already has over a thousand likes and hundreds of shares.
The post caught our attention, so we wanted to find out more.
“Every year, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service faces around 600 rescue actions – 20% of which are foreign guests. So, we put a lot of effort into prevention; more prevention equals less action, which is the main aim of our campaign. Each year, at the beginning of the season we try to point out some safety rules for guests in Croatia, but in a way that is cynical and funny, because it is better accepted this way.” Reported Jadran Kapović from Hrvatska Gorska Služba Spašavanja (Croatian Mountain Rescue Service).
This is not the first campaign of its kind. Last year they did a similar campaign and won an award for Communicators of the Year (2016) by the Croatian Association for Public Relations (HOUJ).
Believe it or not, the advice (however humorous) is based on real-life scenarios and, just to get the point across, the advice (below) has also been written in German and Italian.
Bravo HGSS, here is the announcement, hopefully people reading have a good laugh AND learn something in the process!
Dear Tourists, Welcome to Croatia.
We are the Croatian Mountain Rescue Servce. (CMRS). Google it. You might need us. We hope not.
During your visit here, especially if you prefer to spend your time in nature (and in Croatia we do have that, big time! And it is great! Huge! Greatest Ever!) we would like you to pay attention to a few things as follows:
- The air is clean, the sky is blue, the sea is great, mountains are high and then you get lost. Who you gonna call? 112 (emergency number in Croatia) and not Ghostbusters.
- As much as we appreciate you and we hope that you do it yourself, please do not overestimate your skills. Doing so usually starts the ‘shit hits the fan” situation and then we end up driving you home. Sounds like a love song, but it is not. We’d prefer to you enjoy your holiday without us.
- The moment you put your flip-flops on your feet, hiking mode is off. Trust us on this one.
- If you are going hiking, please make sure your mobile is fully charged and do not waste is unnecessarily. You can tweet about what you saw when you come safely back to the point of your departure.
- Water means life. Hydrate. Think about it.
- Doing selfies on the edge of a cliff can be the last thing you did before you figure out that a fall is a flight as well. Please, you do look great, but go easy on those selfies. You do not need them that much.
- If you think you might be in trouble out there on the mountain or in any other part of Croatia, you probably are. Do not hesitate to ask for help. Our ERS (Emergency Response Units) such as CMRS will help you. But, the thing is, we are not mind readers. We tried, and it is not working. So, use your phone when in trouble #112. Remember!
- Google Bura. Seriously. Google it.
Have a great stay in Croatia. And stay safe so you can come back next year.
Yours sincerely,
CMRS
To follow news from the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, follow their Facebook page here.
