Nedo Pinezić and Boris Šuljić showed with their own examples what real sustainable development and tourism is

Definition of sustainable development and tourism in practice

Author  Goran Rihelj

29. April 2024.

The development of tourism, as well as sustainable tourism, starts from the local community. And without local people, there is no sustainable tourism. Destinations must be strong, have the capacity and knowledge to engage in development. Sustainable tourism has no alternative. 

Sustainable tourism - that magical word that is present everywhere today. But what is sustainable development and tourism? Without a lot of slogans and definitions, we bring two examples from practice. Simple examples that have such a great meaning and breadth, that we can write a book about sustainable tourism. 

"A family table. I am happy and proud that in Krk we have such craftsmen as Toni Prendivoj, "Noliot", Nenadici. The material left over during construction was incorporated into the unique table made to measure for the dining room of a country house. This is our small contribution to sustainable development and sustainable tourism. Floors, work surfaces in the kitchen, wooden joinery... everything is the work of the same master workshop in Krk" announced Nedo Pinezić on his Facebook portal.

 

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And that is sustainable development and sustainable tourism. And not "IKEA" furniture/tourism and encourage imports through tourism.

Thanks to tourism, crafts should flourish, have strong specialized craft schools and real masters (which are fewer and fewer in today's world) and focus on added value through the export of top quality products. All thanks to tourism.

Of course, this would also mean people staying in developed tourist destinations, strengthening the economy and dispersing risks, etc... How many apartments are there in Croatia? That only 30% use local resources, local eggs, buy from local artisans... keep going, you get the point. Well done Nedo, ambassador of our tourism

The question is how many such true masters are left in Croatia, especially on the Adriatic and islands? We destroyed them. We destroyed the market by importing cheap "goods". We, yes we. It is not a problem in large retail chains, there are also in Austria, but there the base is domestic and local. And now we continue to destroy by importing foreign labor. 

Being a carpenter, mason, electrician, joiner, restorer... craftsman is no longer IN, and this is also shown by the data on the decreasing number of students in secondary vocational schools. We have been seeing the consequences for years. 

On the Adriatic, it's not a problem to buy air conditioning or a swimming pool, the problem is maintenance. 

I have written many times about the connection between agriculture and tourism, so as not to repeat myself too much, I will highlight only some of the articles below in the attachment. 

In every lecture and education I give, this topic is always present, and one slide is always reserved for a picture of an egg with the title that it is the most important topic of tourism. What is the monthly demand for domestic eggs in Pula, Zadar, Split...?  

/ / / Instead of agriculture in the service of tourism, we encourage imports through tourism. Suludo!

/ / / Jamaica combined tourism and agriculture, we are still only talking about connecting blue and green Croatia

/ / / Small family taverns know how to connect blue and green Croatia

/ / / Connecting hotels with OPGs: The hotel chef plays a key role in local supply chains

/ / / Liburnia Riviera Hotels cooperate with local OPGs: Get to know the Liburnian breakfast

/ / / Example of good practice: Terme Sveti Martin as a guide to what tourism in Croatia should look like

Boris Šuljić the owner of the hotel, winery and restaurant Boškinac from Novalja on the island of Pag., recently published a post that he was in Lika in search of Lika potatoes. This is the meaning and added value of tourism. 

How many restaurants are there in Croatia? In Croatia, we have over 20 million arrivals and over 100 million overnight stays. So, specifically demand and consumption. And we import basic foodstuffs. Crazy from every aspect. 

 

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It is sustainable tourism. Tourism we must strive for. That is the essence of tourism. I know it's more than challenging, but this is the right way.

By the way, in 2021, I wrote about a job advertisement published by Šuljić

"I am looking for a chef who will observe satisfied guests from this perspective, cook brudit and risotto for them, bake and roast fish on a griddle, and receive a very, very good salary for this” he announced Boris Šuljić, owner of the hotel, winery and restaurant Boškinac from Novalja on the island of Pag.

 

The video (job ad) is so simple, yet it hit the heart and "threw down the gauntlet" to everyone who loves cooking. Groceries are here, show and prove what you know - is the narrative of the ad. Quite a challenge, isn't it? Especially when it comes to a top restaurant like Boškinac.

By the way, this year, Boškinac, in addition to the already far-recognized fine dining restaurant, also opened a tavern inside his building, which turned out to be a great move. Both for domestic guests and foreigners. In addition to fine dining, through the Boškinac tavern, the experience is more accessible to a wider audience, but again with the quality signature of the Boškinac brand, both in terms of service and quality.

Well done Boris. Well done Nedo. These are our ambassadors of our tourism. It is sustainable tourism that we must strive for. 

hrturism espresso: We continue to record various loud thoughts about sustainable tourism throughout Croatia.

The first goal is to reach 100 hr tourism express and thus focus on the broader concept of sustainable tourism, from different perspectives and stakeholders of the tourism sector. Because live tourism is much more than one definition.

hrturism espresso: Moreno Coronica, Vina Coronica

The tradition of growing vines in the Coronica family began four generations ago. The estate of the Coronica family is located near the tourist town of Umag on the northwestern coast of Istria.

"I think that sustainable tourism is first of all less devastation of the territory. More domestic production of domestic products and to include and protect small households as much as possible", emphasizes Moreno Coronica. 

In 30 seconds, while I make you an espresso, can you tell me what sustainable tourism is for you? Write what sustainable tourism is for you in the comments.

See hturism espresso series on YouTube channel hrturism and don't forget to press subscribe, i.e. subscribe to the channel in order to follow the series hrturizam espresso about sustainable tourism. 

Author  Goran Rihelj

29. April 2024.