The decision to travel will depend on global security. Croatia ranks XNUMXth in the world in terms of safety

According to research by the World Economic Forum, even 84,2 percent of the world's population is worried about the direction the world is moving.

The main risks of the modern world are the rising cost of living, environmental security, and geo-economic confrontations that can turn into conflicts and produce new tensions, said Dr.Sc. Vlatko Cvrtila, rector of Zagreb University VERN in the first presentation at Conference "Security and Tourism", which is organized by the Croatian Association of Security Managers and takes place on May 24 and 25 at the Olea Hotel in Novalja on Pag.

"The situation in the world requires continuous crisis management, the world is divided, tensions between key actors are growing, military power is multiplying, which is a challenge. Globalization and economic growth are behind us, and the likelihood of extreme events is increasing. In a fragmented world, there will be more power centers that may be in conflict, and the actors are not only states but also multinational companies. Tourist markets will also be diversified, and tourist flows will be increased by cooperation and partnership between countries. The decision to travel will depend on global security, with Croatia doing well as it ranks XNUMXth in the world in terms of security, ahead of Greece and Turkey. However, when the parameter of corruption and safety of foreign investments is measured, we fall sharply below the fiftieth place”, said Dr. Cvrtila, among others, in his presentation "Security challenges in Europe, regional similarities and differences, specificity of tourist regions", stressing that security is capital for destinations.

Alen Ostojic, the president of the Croatian Association of Security Managers ( HUMS ), opening the meeting, recalled the recent declaration of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the Croatian tourism sector coped with more successfully than other tourist countries.

"The project of the Ministry of Tourism "Safe Stay in Croatia", which above all promoted safety and health, proved to be successful, thanks to which tourists and visitors to Croatia received all relevant information about protocols and measures from all levels of the tourism sector quickly and transparentlyOstojić said.

Juro Martinović, the state secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Administration, arrived at the conference from a meeting with the US Department of Justice, with which an agreement was signed on the prevention of cyber crime, stressing that we need a quality legislative framework to create a security perception and an adequate social reaction when something happens.

This year's, the second conference on safety in tourism, is symbolically held in Novalja on Pag, a city known for its summer parties on Zrće beach, which pose a security challenge. Last year, Novalja recorded almost two million commercial overnight stays, while the city's population is only 4500.

"This year, in addition to the triage team that is constantly in Zrć, we will also have a Red Cross station with a scooter and rescue equipment. The Croatian fire brigade will have two video cameras from July 1, and during the season around sixty policemen from other places will also maintain order.", he said in his opening speech Ivan Dabo, mayor of Novalja. Josip Pavić, the state secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, added that the Ministry of Tourism will co-finance additional emergency teams not only in Zrć but also in other tourist places.

Ante Soljic, member of the Defense Committee of the Croatian Parliament and chairman of the Committee for Security in Tourism of the Croatian Association of Security Managers, spoke about security as a crucial factor in modern tourism and reminded that terrorist attacks have been growing rapidly since 1970 and that they have the greatest impact on the decline in demand in tourist destinations where they took place and in their vicinity, thus affecting the global movement of tourists.

Associate Professor, Ph.D. Robert Kopal, president of the Governing Council of the EFFECTUS Polytechnic, believes that cyber risks are the biggest global challenge for security, which is what he talked about in his presentation "Cyber ​​challenges in tourism". Unfortunately, these risks are underestimated in Croatia, and the first risk is a change in legislation. He predicts that cyber threats and cyber risks will have to be managed more efficiently because such attacks can cause millions of losses. He also made a worrying forecast, according to which a catastrophic cyber event can be expected in the next two years, and the question is how it will be possible to prevent it, since there is already a shortage of millions of cyber security experts.

MSc. Zoran Stanko from Libertas University Zagreb spoke about the international framework for safe business trips and about managing risks and resources in tourism, while Ph.D. Branko Mihaljević, president of the Governing Council of the Business School Integral Security and Development spoke about crisis management in the tourism sector in Croatia.

Mateja Kakarigi, a university specialist in national security, spoke about the importance of the perception of security in a tourist destination, pointing out that the need for security is immediately after physiological needs, and security gained global significance only after the terrorist attack on the USA on September 11, 2001. 

"Security is an ideal strategy that Croatia should use in the future in the world tourism market, especially since it is the first in the EU in terms of the share of tourism in GDP. Therefore, marketing communication is important for competitiveness", emphasized Mateja Kakarigi.

In the panel entitled (In)security of festivals, clubs and beaches, they discussed their experiences, investments and plans to improve the security of large events, such as Split's Ultra or club events on Zrć Goran Košćak from the company Sector2, which deals with the security of events in tourism, Slobodan Marendić, head of the PU of Split-Dalmatia, Alen Delic from SpotMe, Siniša Srag, director of the Papaya Aquarius Nomad program and Amar Foco, manager of Noa Beach Club, clubs that also work in Zrć.

"The challenges of major festivals in Croatia are the entry into Schengen, the introduction of the euro, extremism and power outages, and they cannot, as far as security is concerned, rely only on public institutions and that when crisis situations arise. It is necessary to invest systematically and strategically in such event tourism products, and these investments are always returned through reputation and the absence of incidents.", emphasized Košćak and gave examples of new technologies, such as chipped bracelets for festival guests, which would be used to replace tickets, and whose innovations are being worked on in order to use them to react faster and better in case of incidents. 

Trouble never comes alone

"Trouble never comes alone," he concluded Amar Foco, general manager of NOA beach club, presenting the case of last year's fire on Zrće on the second day of the "Safety and Tourism" Conference.

"The fire started at 2.58:3.18 a.m. on the ninth of August, so at the height of the tourist season. At 3.38:3500 a.m., it began to spread rapidly, and at XNUMX:XNUMX a.m. there was a collision on the rotor, blocking the road to Zrće, which made it difficult for the services to reach the place of the fire. There were about XNUMX people in the club, and a total of about ten thousand on the beach, two large yachts were anchored in the bay, and the parking lot full of cars was close to the fire. The most important thing for us was to prevent a possible stampede, so we started gradually reducing the volume of the music, we sent guests and employees to repark their cars, and we defended those who remained in the parking lot with fire extinguishers. The accident revealed to us the types of guests: there are panickers, phlegmatics, social media creators, thieves, partygoers, drama queens or drama kings, conflict instigators and heroes. The heroes are the most dangerous because they run after the firemen and interfere with their work, and the dramatists are the most annoying because they throw themselves on the floor, faint and the like. The most diligent are the party members who do not want to evacuate, claim that they have the right to stay because they paid for the ticket and take the situation lightly”, described Fočo and emphasized that for safety in such situations, it is important to hold crisis meetings with the local self-government, police, firefighters, emergency services and civil protection during the preparations for the season, and arrange for quick notification of these services when an accident occurs.

Dejan Šobić from ASSA ABLOY Croatia spoke about new security technologies in hotels, especially about more secure locks on the doors of hotel rooms, because many of them can be broken into within a few minutes.

Ladislav Bognar from Klemm security, in his presentation on protection at meetings, referred to the situation in the private protection sector, which is plagued by a lack of people and a high average age of employees.

The module "Traffic - tourism - safety" discussed the influence of technical vehicle safety on traffic safety, the results of the seven-year campaign "Day without mobile phones in traffic" and traffic safety on the roads of Lika-Senj County.

Ph.D. Tomislav Škreblin, assistant to the Technical Affairs Directorate of the Croatian Vehicle Center, presented the devastating information that of the 2,5 million registered vehicles in Croatia, more than two thirds are over ten years old. As the price of used vehicles has increased, most people buy vehicles older than ten years, and the result is that the Croatian fleet is getting older. Research has shown that the largest number of traffic accidents occur due to technical defects, and there are more such defects in older vehicles.

Renata Ivanovic, leader of the Day without Mobile Phones in Traffic campaign, which has been running for the seventh year and is sponsored by the Croatian Association of Safety Managers, presented how implementing a multi-year campaign can influence changes in dangerous habits and behavior and raise awareness of personal responsibility in traffic.

"In the campaign messages, we do not use negative tones, such as showing photos of accidents, even though the mobile phone is the 3rd killer on the road, because such messages do not affect people to change their behavior, even if they are aware that it is dangerous. However, a lot can be achieved by organizing activities and creating specific products that are a daily warning to people of possible black scenarios if they use a mobile phone behind the wheel, at pedestrian crossings or on a bicycle. Thus, as part of the project, the first traffic light in the EU with horizontal signaling warning pedestrians that the traffic light is red was installed in Zagreb. Thanks to the five conferences 'We and our gadgets in traffic', organized as part of the campaign, which bring together everyone involved in the traffic and automotive industry, traffic infrastructure, and the police, as well as the IT industry, this multidisciplinary sector has connected and is working together on many future traffic safety projects. Over the past years, it has been possible to reduce the number of drivers using mobile phones while driving by 20 percent and cyclists by ten percent. There are still many challenges, it is necessary to continue to involve young people in the campaign, to advocate for education in traffic culture and behavior in traffic, in order to ultimately achieve the goal of reducing traffic accidents caused by the use of mobile phones in traffic, which is a distraction equal to driving while intoxicated or driving impaired. speed", emphasized Ivanovic.

Police advisor Josip Dujmović, the head of the basic police service of the PU Lika-Senj, reminded that this county is one of the largest territorially in Croatia, and the largest number of tourists pass through its roads. In traffic accidents, the most common cause is driver error, with excessive speed and alcohol consumption leading the way.

Photo: HUMS