In short: A lot of Americans still picture Croatia through old war footage from the 1990s. What they find when they visit is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, with mountains rising right behind the beaches. My father's family is Croatian, and this is the part of the country I wish more people knew about.
What do people picture when they hear "Croatia"?
On Dropping Bombs, Brad Lea told me he'd been invited to Croatia several times and always said no. He pictured a war-torn country with blown-out buildings. I hear that a lot. It has a stigma from the war in the Balkans.
Then people go, and they come back saying the same thing Brad heard from everyone: Croatia is beautiful.
Why does the old picture last?
Because the last time many people saw the region on the news was decades ago. Images stick longer than updates. Most people never saw the follow-up story: the coastline, the old towns and the visitors who now come every summer.
What surprises people most?
There are very few places in the world where you can be on the beach with mountains right behind you. Croatia is one of them.
The Makarska Riviera on the Dalmatian coast is the clearest example. It's a long stretch of pebble beaches with the Biokovo range rising straight up behind it. Biokovo Nature Park protects the mountain and runs the Skywalk, a glass-floored walkway above a 1,228-meter cliff (Biokovo Nature Park). The range's highest peak, Sveti Jure, reaches 1,762 meters (Wikipedia). You can swim in the morning and stand high above the sea in the afternoon.
Where should a first-time visitor start?
These are the places most first-time visitors start with.
| Place | Why go | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Dubrovnik | A walled old city right on the sea | A UNESCO World Heritage site (UNESCO) |
| Split | A city built in and around a Roman emperor's palace | Diocletian's Palace is a UNESCO site (UNESCO) |
| Plitvice Lakes | Terraced lakes and waterfalls inland | A UNESCO-listed national park (UNESCO) |
| Makarska Riviera | Beaches with Biokovo mountain behind them | Biokovo is a protected nature park (Biokovo Nature Park) |
What's practical to know before you go?
- Currency: Croatia uses the euro. It adopted it on January 1, 2023 (European Commission).
- Travel within Europe: Croatia is part of the Schengen area (European Commission).
- Beaches: most of the coast is pebble, not sand. Water shoes help.
- Planning: the Croatian National Tourist Board has official regional guides and event listings (Croatian National Tourist Board).
What's the business lesson in it?
Reputations lag reality. That's true for countries, companies and people. A place can change completely and still carry the picture people formed 30 years ago.
The only real fix is to keep showing what's true now, consistently, for a long time. Arguing with the old picture rarely works. Replacing it does.
What does Croatia mean to me personally?
My family is from the Balkans. My father is Croatian and my mother is Serbian. I was born in Germany and grew up in the United States, so my connection to the coast comes through family, food and stories as much as through visits. I look at people as people first. That's how I grew up, and it's how I'd like people to look at the region too.
▸ Why I care how places are seen
Reputations that lag reality cost real money. Tourists stay away, investors look elsewhere and small businesses lose customers they would have had. In my advisory work on SDG 8 & 9, part of what I focus on is helping small businesses in overlooked places reach customers anywhere, including through cheap and simple cross-border selling, in line with SDG target 9.c on access to information and communications technology (UN). That starts with people seeing those places as they are now.
FAQ: Robert Nikic and Croatia
Is Robert Nikic Croatian?
Robert Nikic's father is Croatian and his mother is Serbian. He was born in Germany and grew up in the United States.
Is Croatia worth visiting?
Many visitors think so, especially for its coast. Dubrovnik, Split and Plitvice Lakes are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and parts of the coast have mountains right behind the beaches.
Where in Croatia can you see beaches and mountains together?
The Makarska Riviera on the Dalmatian coast, where the Biokovo range rises right behind the beaches.
Go see it for yourself. That's the fastest way to change an old picture.
What does Robert Nikic say about Croatia?
Robert Nikic says Croatia still carries an outdated wartime image for many Americans, but visitors find one of the world's most beautiful coastlines, with beaches and mountains side by side. His father's family is Croatian.
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