Croatia bans tourists from arriving with their own food; Czechs are outraged
We've all heard of movie theaters banning food not bought on premises, and certainly it's a no-brainer that you just can't buy take-away food somewhere and go sit in a restaurant and eat it.
But this is the first time I've heard of a country banning food not purchased in its own borders.
Croatia has taken the unusual step, in Europe at least, of forbidding tourists from bringing their own food when they come to holiday on the coast this summer. The ban seems focused on meat and dairy products, and is response primarily to Czech tourists who, in droves every summer, pack up their family cars with yogurt, margarine, fried meat, beer, you name it and head down to places like Hvar and Dubrovnik. They hardly spend a dime on food during a week or two of holidays.
Naturally, Czechs are up in arms about this.
"800,000 Czech citizens visit Croatia every year. Two-thirds of them – around 500,000 Czechs - spend their vacation in Croatia in apartments with kitchens where they cook. So this new rule very drastically affects most Czech citizens this year. Croatia is the number one destination for Czech people, and about 25 percent of all Czech vacations are spent in Croatia," Tomio Okamura, spokesman of the Czech Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agents, tells Radio Prague.
Why wouldn't Czechs just suck it up and maybe go out for a meal or two, or, if they want to cook, buy the food locally? Okamura has his theories: "It's not only a problem of price, it's also a problem of taste. Because Czechs like the taste of Czech sausages, Czech yogurt and so on - a lot of them prefer their lovely taste. And of course they want also to save money."
Maybe Gadling's resident Czech, Iva, should chime in on this: Will her countrymen cancel their Croatian holiday plans because of this, or will they, in the words of Radio Prague's great headline, play hide the salami?
Filed under: Europe, Croatia, Czech Republic
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jun 4th 2008 @ 5:35PM
Iva Skoch said...
Well, it may be neither. Croatia has panicked after Czechs started canceling their vacation in droves and are "rethinking" the idea. At the very least, the ban should be effective January 09, so it shouldn't affect people's vacation plans for this year.
Actually, I was surprised it was legal to bring meat and milk products into Croatia to begin with. A lot of countries, including the US, ban bringing agriculture products from other countries...
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Jun 5th 2008 @ 2:14PM
james said...
Iva is right...if the cute begal at the international arrival area in the USA targets your bag you are in for a slight delay and possible confiscation of food items.
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 11:22AM
John C said...
Not to mention a hefty fine and your name on the S*** list for years to come.
Jun 5th 2008 @ 9:15PM
darko said...
Nothing new...try to bring your own food to Australia...hehe
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 6:20AM
Web said...
They do not want the genetically altered foods, that the west wants to dump there. Get the facts straight. And hormone feed beef.
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Jun 12th 2008 @ 11:48PM
H said...
Re:They do not want the genetically altered foods, that the west wants to dump there. Get the facts straight. And hormone feed beef.
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They are not bringing over and selling the food to the locals, they are consuming their own known brands that they prefer to eat.
Jun 8th 2008 @ 6:54AM
Jim said...
I would also have to agree with others that the ban is not totally out of place or new.
I had to laugh though when the idea of bringing food into a reasturant was used as a comparative example. Unfortuantely, I have witnessed a number of American families over the years who have brought McDonalds takeout into a Mexican or Chinese reasturant for their spoiled brat children. Sad, but true.
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 9:27AM
mel said...
well, what do you want? if a kid doesn't wanna eat chinese or mexican, they're just not gonna eat it. Doesn't have to do with them being spoiled. They are at an age where their tastebuds aren't gonna eat broccoli and/or oysters. That comes with time.
Jun 8th 2008 @ 10:16AM
pam said...
I agree with Jim. Mel, your kids should either stay home, or eat before or after the restaurant. Our girls have always been open to trying new things because it's either eat from the menu or be hungry. At home, it's either eat what's on the table or fix your own PB&J sandwich. And absolutely no nasty comments about what's served! This is after the age of baby food, of course. Our 16-yr-old is headed to Europe this summer and we have no fears that she'll embarass us with food pickiness. I've often noticed that picky kids have picky parents. People, try new things!!!
Jun 8th 2008 @ 6:56AM
Joy said...
What do Czechs do when they emigrate to a different country? Do they import their own, non-GM,Czech-tasting food for the rest of their lives? Come on, this is just a power trip.
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 1:09PM
Jazzmin said...
They shop at the Czech markets, cook Czech and eat Czech. If you're lucky, they invite you to dinner! The food, and cooking, are wonderful!
Jun 8th 2008 @ 3:07PM
Joy said...
Jazzmin: With all due respect, the food isn't that good! It's only what they've been brought up eating. I've visited The Czech Repulic numerous times, and I've lived in many European countries they emigrate to and I've never met a Czech that didn't usually eat their host country's food, with the occasional Czech "treat". They don't DEMAND their native cooking/food be available to them 24/7. This article states that holiday-goers are demanding it while on a holiday of what, 1-4 weeks? The purpose of the tourist industry is to build the local economy. It makes the local more appealing to vacationers when better, cleaner ammenities are offered. LOCAL FOOD is a major money-maker that pays for these up-grades.
Do I even have to bring up the "When in Rome" aspect?
Jun 8th 2008 @ 7:05AM
Simzeee said...
The U.S. Should do this too.
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 9:13PM
mdmorri3 said...
the U.S. does do this. We buy imported food but you can't bring whatever you want into the U.S. nor from certain states into other states. Duh!
Jun 8th 2008 @ 11:48AM
Roswitha Junk said...
The US does it for many, many years. To my knowledge every country within Europe prohibites meat or dairy products from neigboring countries.
Jun 8th 2008 @ 7:13AM
Alex Vallas said...
I don 't blame Crotia. I remember years ago, when I lived in Italy, watching the Germans load up their cars and bikes with backpacks to bring in their own food to save money. Incidentally, for different reasons, the US does not allow anyone entering the US to bring in food.
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 7:22AM
Chef Alfred said...
This one is easy. Come here!
I'll make you a meal.
How about Veal Morango ?
Chef Alfred
alfredschrader@aol.com
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 7:33AM
Frostie said...
So let them save money - who has so much these days anyway ?
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Jun 8th 2008 @ 11:39AM
Michelley-poo said...
Apparently Oprah does! I just read a story about how she earns 260 million dollars a year. I'm sure if she visited Croatia, she'd be allowed to bring her own food.
(this was semi-jokingly wrote.)
Jun 8th 2008 @ 7:52AM
myrna said...
Jordan took away my food and water at a border crossing from Israel to visit Petra. They then showed us were to buy some Jordian water.
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