After the Parliament adopted the Law on Concessions a couple of weeks ago, multiple cases of concession holders banning locals from beaches have been reported. The latest comes from Dalmatia, where a woman named Barbara Buličić was asked to leave the beach at the Brown Beach House Trogir on Čiovo island on July 16, 2017.
Buličić disclosed some details in a post she published both on her private account and in the Facebook group called Javno je dobro – dobro je javno (What’s public is good, the property is public). Here’s the entire original post:
“I’ve just been asked to leave a spot in the shade under a fig tree on a beach I first visited 40 years ago. The same beach is now being used by the Hotel Brown Beach House Trogir. That fig tree might have been planted by my grandfather 75 years ago. I was approached by two adolescents, acting like they’re very important because they’re wearing uniforms of the aforementioned hotel. Upon asking whose warrant is preventing me from staying here, I got a reply it was an order from the manager of the hotel, Mr Max, he’s Belgian, you know. I instantly went up into the hotel to look for Mr Max, but he didn’t see the need to listen to me. There you have it, I wanted to share my frustration with somebody, and I don’t plan on stopping here. If you know who to contact about such cases and how to proceed, please let me know.”
The hotel was quick to reply, explaining no one is prohibited from using the beach, but that the case in question had to do with renovation works that are currently underway.
“Dear members of the group, please allow us to again apologise to Ms Buličić for making her feel uncomfortable by our employee who asked her to move her towel to another part of the beach, as the area around the fig tree is still undergoing renovation works. We completely respect the laws of the state we do business in, and we take great care to stay in good relations with the local community. We are very sorry Ms Buličić didn’t feel welcome, but we want to precise that she was asked to move to another spot at the beach, not to leave it. Since we opened last year, we have been cooperating with the local community, and most of our employees, including those on higher managing positions, come from Trogir, Kaštel and Split. In order not to usurp the public space, we don’t use the entire area we have under concession, nor do we plan to start using it. We care about everyone feeling pleasant and welcome at this beach on Čiovo, no matter if it’s local residents, our hotel guests, or guests of Čiovo in general. With upmost respect, the management team of the Hotel Brown Beach House”, states their official announcement in a comment under the original post.
Buličić’s post includes two photos, one of the beach in front of the hotel, the other of the mentioned fig tree. To be quite honest, the photos don’t show any indication of construction works taking place in the area. There are two sides to every story, and one has to be careful not to go on a witch hunt because the social media has turned into a powerful tool in recent years. However, when it comes to the concession saga, the truth probably lies somewhere on the side of the people.
