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For those who clicked on the first site that appears when searching “Kolocep” on
the internet, “Tourists & Buyers Beware – A Call for Boycott”, Hotel Villas
Kolocep would like to use its “right to reply” to the accusations put forth on the
Internet site kolocep-dubrovnik.com.
In order to be able to do so, a brief historical overview is required to better
understand the situation as it presents itself today.
When Tito came to power in 1944, he nationalized properties across Yugoslavia, including
Villa Ruza the property referred to in the above-mentioned Internet site.
When Croatia became an independent country, a privatization fund was established
in 1996 whose purpose was to sell off these nationalized properties. In 2004, an
official, open and public international biding process was organized by the Croatian
Privatization Fund to sell Hotel Kolocep and other associated properties, including
Villa Ruza.
The current owners of Hotel Villas Kolocep and Villa Ruza, who ended up winning
the final bid, created a non-profit foundation devoted to the preservation of the
natural beauty of the island and its lifestyle but also to the improvement of the
quality of life for the islanders. The foundation is concerned with the sustainability
of the island’s fragile economy and has already made important investments to bring,
for example, distance learning to the communities through the installation of a
high speed Internet and WiFi service available free of charge on most parts of the
island and at the local school.
For former owners whose properties were nationalized back in the1940's, like those
presenting themselves via the kolocep-dubrovnik.com, a compensation fund was established
by the Croatian government. It is this official government-controlled body alone
that can handle any disputes arising from assets sold to private entrepreneurs or
companies via the legal and transparent privatization bids. Instead of choosing
this known and legal route, the people behind kolocep-dubrovnik.com have decided
to go after the company owning Hotel Villas Kolocep who is now the legal owner of
Villa Ruza since the official bidding process was completed.
Their Internet site, by asking tourists to boycott the hotel, can have serious consequences
for the island of Kolocep. Hotel Villas Kolocep is basically the sole employer on
the island. By encouraging the boycott of the hotel, the people behind kolocep-dubrovnik.com
are jeopardizing the employment of our islanders.
Also, and unlike most of our neighbouring islands' hotels, Hotel Villas Kolocep
employs most of its local workforce on a 12 month basis, instead of on a seasonal
basis, so that the islanders can have a decent life style and can continue to live
on the island year round. On the other Elafiti islands, most people are employed
on a seasonal basis which leaves the islands empty and dead in the winter time.
In the end, kolocep-dubrovnik.com harms not only the hotel, but also the islanders
who depend on the hotel for their livelihood. Since Internet is open to all expression,
which is a good thing, there is nothing that we can do about the existence of this
site. However, since the 1930’s the apparent “owners” who claim Villa Ruza today
are established in North America and their descendents apparently come from a very
wealthy family. They can afford to pay Google to remain at the top of the list when
searching for “Kolocep” on the Internet.
Unfortunately, Hotel Villas Kolocep does not have the means to do so.
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