If there is one bone of contention or thorn in the side, if you will, of Croatia’s many island inhabitants, it is that there are either issues with maritime transport to the mainland and back again, or that the prices are too high. Islanders do get island cards and often pay lower prices to use the services of let’s say, Jadrolinija, but this doesn’t stop the complaints.
As Morski writes on the 27th of May, 2020, we have only got a few days to go until entry into force of Jadrolinija’s summer sailing schedule, which has further upset the already irritated Croatian islanders who have been in isolation, separated from the mainland for months now.
The sore point for the majority of the islanders is the fact that Jadrolinija’s prices will remain the same as they were last year, which as we all know, was a record year for Croatian tourism. That ship soon sailed, however, (no pun intended), with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which saw tourism across the globe grind to a very sudden halt. It isn’t just the pockets of the islanders which have been hit, and this leaves them wondering just who will visit the central Dalmatian islands in such circumstances, when finances are tight?
HTV stated that Croatia’s premier island of Hvar is empty. There are no yachts and no guests. The elite hotels that once boasted of their offers and their guests are closed.
Jadrolinija’s summer sailing schedule should finally bring in a handful of guests from nearby markets, including domestic tourists, but the prices being the same as last year when Croatia enjoyed a record tourist year is unlikely to draw many people to the islands.
”I think the time has come for Jadrolinija to reconsider its prices and to help us simply get through this summer by reducing their prices to a level that would satisfy both them and us. Let it be 50 percent lower when compared to last year,” said the president of the Hvar Craftsmen’s Association, Katica Vucetic.
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