Croatia: tourism and ecology are not always compatible

The development of tourism in Croatia has become a state policy. However, the interests of the tourism industry and concern for the environment do not always coincide. Just a few days ago, a scandal broke out in Croatia related to construction on the island of Murter.

Located just 20 meters(!) from the Dalmatian coast and next to the Kornati National Park, Murter Island is quite small: its area is less than 19 square kilometers. It is very popular with tourists, divers and yachtsmen. A week of rest here costs almost 3,000 euros. Therefore, every meter of land is worth its weight in gold.

It is not surprising that the new houses, built just a hundred meters from the beach, were sold out at the construction stage. Moreover, the lucky owners of the property overlooking the Adriatic were mainly foreigners: citizens of Austria, Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

And so the houses, worth more than 100,000 euros each, began to be demolished. It turns out that the construction was carried out in an ecologically protected area. Permission to use land for the construction of private houses in the Croatian State Inspectorate was considered illegal and decided to demolish the new buildings.

The deceived owners turned to embassies and law enforcement agencies for help. Several representatives of the construction company have already been detained in the case, as well as the former head of the district, who issued a work permit in the security zone. It is not yet clear who will compensate the injured foreigners. A conflict of interest can become an international scandal.