Illegal Camp with 126 Mobile Homes Sealed Mid-Season
Inspectors in Draga found two levels of illegality, and another camp in Pirovac is set to be closed next week.
Inspectors in Draga found two levels of illegality, and another camp in Pirovac is set to be closed next week.
In the midst of the tourist season, inspectors in Draga shut down a camp that was operating entirely without a permit, containing over a hundred mobile homes. Some of these homes have been removed, while the rest have been sealed. Although the owner was issued a ban at the beginning of the month, he ignored it.
The camp spans ten cadastral plots, where inspectors discovered two levels of regulatory violations.
"We have two levels of illegality: the first is that the owner of the illegal camp provided accommodation services for mobile homes within the camp area, and the second is that the owners of those homes advertised them on various platforms," said Vedrana Filipović-Grčić, assistant to the Chief State Inspector, for RTL Danas.
By August 4, the owner was supposed to notify users to remove their mobile homes, but he failed to do so. Consequently, the tourist inspection itself informed the home owners of the situation. In the meantime, some homes were taken away, while others remained sealed on site.
"In accordance with our powers, we will, of course, allow all those mobile home owners to have their homes unsealed and relocated outside the illegal camp area," said Filipović-Grčić.
The owner of the illegal camp declined to give a statement to RTL Danas cameras.
From April 20 to August 15, inspectors conducted 2,069 inspections. During this time, they discovered 116 unregistered accommodations and eight illegal camps.
A significant number of reports come from tourist boards, as was the case with the camp in Draga. This year, 65 percent of received reports were justified.
"Illegal facilities and the stay of unregistered illegal guests are a significant problem in Marčana, and I believe throughout Istria. So far, we've had 40 such accommodations, most recently a private camp," said Maja Bizjak, director of the Marčana Tourist Board.
Among those illegally renting out accommodations are foreign nationals, including individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Arab Emirates.
So far, inspectors have sealed 23 holiday homes, a house with 15 rooms in Brela, ten apartments in Brist, an illegal camp on a family farm on Pelješac, and an apartment in Poreč.
"Regarding the structure of the facilities, we've sealed 23 holiday homes-for example, yesterday in Brela a house with 15 rooms, in Brist ten apartments, on Pelješac an illegal camp on a family farm, and in Poreč an apartment," said Filipović-Grčić.
From April to August, 71 facilities were sealed, the same number of criminal charges were filed, and 97 misdemeanor orders were issued.
Illegal renters were fined a total of 142,000 euros, and illegally acquired property worth approximately 430,000 euros was confiscated.
Tourist boards, faced with a large number of cases of undeclared work, expect increased inspector activity on the ground.
"We find out about such facilities ourselves, usually through advertisements on social media, but also through anonymous reports from our citizens, whom I thank here," said Bizjak.
According to Net.hr, next week inspectors will close another illegal camp in Pirovac, similar to the one in Draga, containing 30 mobile homes.
