Plans for a crackdown on beach behaviour in Croatia have been dropped amid much criticism from the media.
The Guardian reports that, under new rules drawn up this year, beaches were “braced for an invasion by bureaucrats sniffing swimmers’ feet for lack of deodorant, checking infants’ nappies for the permitted design, inspecting bikinis to make sure the dress code was not violated, and banning men in boxers from the beaches”.
The new rules were reportedly to be introduced today; however, the tourism minister is said to have got cold feet over the initiative following a backlash from other politicians and the country’s newspapers. One is said to have mocked the minister’s “Nazi tourism structures”.
Josip Lozic, director of the Croatian tourist office in London, is quoted as saying: “On the Mediterranean beaches, half of the girls are topless or in thongs. You can’t be too strict. The ministry will have to sit down and take a look at this from a fresh angle.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd www.newsfromabroad.com
