Croatia must resist temptation: Comment by Jeremy Skidmore

So, how was World Travel Market for you?

Those who went will probably be thoroughly tired by now after a week of meetings at the event which seems to sap energy like no other.

This year there’s been a bit more to smile about, with many destinations reporting a rise in bookings.

Let’s hope it lasts and also, let’s hope the Croatian National Tourist Office director Niko Bulic is as good as his word.

Bulic has pledged the destination, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, would not become ‘hamburgerised’. I’m not sure there’s any such word, but we all know what he meant.

Croatia will not be allowed to become a mass-market destination catering for the lowest common denominator.

How many times have we heard that one? Think Corfu, think Faliraki, think half a dozen places in Spain.

So often tourism ministers say they want to keep a destination upmarket, but they just can’t say no to the short-term cash benefits that a huge mass of English holidaymakers brings.

But, usually, it is short term. If you’ve got an upmarket image, it’s easy to go downmarket, but virtually impossible to go the other way.

Nick Wrightman of Tapestry Holidays last year famously commented that if any resorts currently featured by the operator decided to open Club 18-30 style bars and discos, he would immediately pull out.

He was then inundated with phone calls from holidaymakers wanting to book with him.

Tapestry has just started featuring Croatia and, no doubt, Bulic’s comments were music to his ears.

We have plenty of downmarket resorts in the Mediterranean and Croatia’s mantra, ‘The Mediterranean as it once was’, is exactly what we need.

I’ve never met Bulic and have no reason to doubt that he is a man of his word. As I said, let’s hope I’m right.

On a different note, one of the more enjoyable speeches at WTM was from crisis management expert Mary Lynch, who attended the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s European Marketing Forum.

Lynch ran the English Tourism Council during the foot and mouth disease and September 11, so she knows a thing or two about crises. Passing on her wisdom to members of the CTO, many of whom have suffered greatly this year because of hurricane Ivan, she urged people to work with the press.

“You have to think of journalists as children,” she said. “They get hungry, they get bored and they need constant information.”

Fair comment. Contrary to popular myth, journalists don’t usually make things up.

But they have pages, air space and television screens to fill. If you don’t help them, others will and you’ll lose a golden opportunity to put your point of view across and get a sympathetic hearing.