May 10, 2024 – Is it okay for tourist countries to occasionally express negativity and have a little fun at the expense of their guests? Is it okay to giggle at Croatian tourists? ? Just…sometimes?
My two favorite moments where two cultures collided both happened in Africa.
The first time was in 1994, when I was working as an aid worker in rural Rwanda, a few weeks after the genocide. Tasked with setting up a seed, tools, and food distribution program in eastern Rwanda, my first task was to discover that nearly a million people had been massacred in 100 days, with millions more fleeing to camps. The idea was to find out how many people currently live there. of Tanzania and Congo. My job took me to remote parts of that remote country, and no matter where I drove, children would say the same words over and over again to this strange pink creature. also shouted.
“Mzungu. Mzungu.” White people. Caucasian. Then I suddenly became hysterical.
One day we were driving down a particularly remote road in our Toyota pickup truck. There was a driver and my translator in the car, and a British man in pink was sitting in the back. I was standing holding onto the railing of the roof of the hut in front of me when the Mzing chant began. The car hit the roof and stopped.
“How do you say 'black child' in Rwandan?” I asked.
I have forgotten the word now, but the next time some kids shouted “white” at me, I replied “black” in their local language. They got scared and ran away, then looked back at me. I smiled and waved, and they burst out laughing, and an hour later, on the train home, we all cracked the same joke. As I later learned, this was probably the first time they had seen a white man (and definitely a pink man).
Eight years later, I was tasked with implementing a civil society project in Somaliland, where a white man was actually doing a rare and fascinating job. After a dusty three-hour drive to a northern village, I emerged from the jeep with a large pile of unkempt red hair, which must have appeared in the eyes of the poor villagers. But they could only see me for a few seconds. Because as soon as I arrived, the sky opened up and it started raining for the first time in over three years. Manchester's rain god has arrived!
Much like my aid work in Africa, tourism brings together different cultures, although the differences may not generally be that pronounced. As a tourist, I am fortunate that he has visited over 90 countries before settling on the sunny island of Hvar 15 years ago. These include more obscure areas where tourists rarely wander, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and the Gaza Strip. My tourist experience has been very varied and I've made friends along the way, but I was welcomed by the restaurant owner, a fat British guy who was a little out of breath, pink and sweating. I am fully aware that the smiling waiter is probably responsible for the smiling waiter. You want my business and not your new best friend. Would that same waiter secretly laugh at me and my condition? Almost certainly. it's okay.
Of course, solo travel offers a much more personal experience than group tourism, offering opportunities for personal contact and conversation, but group tourism has a conveyor-belt feel. The heat we are currently experiencing, combined with the surge in tourists into a relatively confined space, is causing dissatisfaction on all sides.
But as a tourist-hosting nation, are we allowed to air these grievances, or do we remain silent and continue to complain to local-language social media rants and rants in local cafes? Will it not?
I personally don't think so.
It's one of the most enjoyable things about living in Croatia. You can complain all you want, but not in a way that sounds like a tourist. And as soon as a foreigner expresses a similar opinion in English, tourists may read it. That's a disaster. Every time we post something that points out humorous criticisms of tourists in a light-hearted way, a barrage of criticism begins. How is that possible? We depend on tourism, so if any would-be tourist in Croatia reads this, they will choose other countries such as Greece or Spain.
Ah, Spain. As you can see from the lead photo above, Spain's economy is almost as dependent on tourism as Croatia's, and last summer's friendly welcome message to tourists couldn't have been more clear: “Tourists go home, refugees welcome.” You can imagine the comments you'd get if you reported on such graffiti in Croatia (although refugees wouldn't be so welcome).
Total Croatia News is a portal that writes about Croatia, the good, the bad and sometimes the not-so-pretty. If you're always looking for fun stories about Croatia, these websites exist, but if no one told you about the wildfires, you might be surprised to find half of Dalmatia on fire when you arrive. Please don't. The intention is to remain positive, but the broader purpose is to remain real, which may include writing something negative from time to time, posting (supposedly) funny articles about tourism, or slightly insulting others. This includes teasing.
I'm extremely proud of the talented team of self-motivated writers at TCN. Also, our editorial policy is very lax, allowing writers to choose their topics. So I never know what will happen next. And while you've probably laughed out loud at some anti-tourist writing, they've been widely and very well received and taken as intended. Specific examples include Elena's “Top 15 Stupid Questions Dubrovnik Tourists Ask'', Nikolina's “Chronicles of a Croatian Souvenir Salesgirl'', and her excellent guide to tipping in Croatia. All of these articles received widely positive reviews, but there were also some complaints that they were anti-tourism. Adjume. A useful guide to all the border crossings on the Croatian-Slovenian border at the time when the Croatian-Slovenian border dispute was at its height (which made headlines at the time), but has now thankfully subsided. However, they were also attacked. Do you think tourists will come? Are you writing that? – There were also news reports of 14 km long queues on the highway approaching Zagreb. Rather than letting tourists know about the problems and giving them the option to find alternatives, it is better to just shut up and let tourists know about these things, spend most of their holiday queuing and never come to Croatia again.
Of course, there are more subtle ways to get your message across to Croatian tourists while also making fun of what they're doing wrong. And the Oscar in this category goes to the Croatian Mountain Rescue Team. His humorous advice to his beloved visitors has been one of the highlights of this summer. See above for just one example.
But it's the subject of a snitch and Joezo's epic rant that inspired this editorial. Was I offended by his portrayal of British people? Not at all. That was something I recognized (though I might argue that I'm funny when I'm drunk and our humor isn't stupid, but well, maybe not) . But not everyone was so amused, including commentator Tomislav Mikus, who wrote:
“As a tourism nation that receives $15 million. We should not allow these kinds of comments to spread because we invite guests every year. Guests can always go to Greece, Spain, and other countries. Finally, if you don't like bartending, why do you bartend?
Maybe Jozo needed the job (we hope he still has it after all the media attention). Young Tomislav seems to be advocating censorship to prevent his personal opinions from being heard. I thought that modern Croatia has evolved since then…
But he's right. Guests could go to Spain and be greeted with graffiti that says “go home” and “be stronger.” Given what's happening in other European tourism-dependent countries, perhaps these innocuous occasional rants and characterizations are put into some kind of perspective? Croatia is good at suppressing opinions, especially those that – God forbid – might reach the ears of foreigners. This is one of several reasons why this country is struggling to move forward.
Croatia is a wonderful country for holidays and a warm welcome for tourists. Just like waiters and locals in Greece and Spain, some people may sometimes laugh at your cultural ways, so bear with them.
Enjoy your stay in Croatia.
Subscribe to newsletter
Fields marked with * Is required
