Zlatko Okolić from Doboj started working for the American Cruise Line company Princess Cruises in 2010, which at the time had 16 luxury ships. The ships cruised all over the world, allowing this Doboj native to visit the most attractive destinations worldwide.
- At that time, it was much harder to get a job like that,
everything was slow, there were fewer agencies than today. When I got employed,
I had the opportunity to visit Alaska, the Caribbean, the entire American
coast, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Quebec. Contracts were for
six months and then two to three months off. For that, you need to be mentally
very strong because you can literally forget everything you knew and the habits
you had there - explained Zlatko for the SeeSrpska portal.
Five years later, he decided to work on riverboats in
Europe.
He gained invaluable experience on the Danube-Rhine-Main route.
- From a professional standpoint, this experience is
invaluable if you want to improve professionally; it's an ideal place to gain
knowledge about the most famous world dishes, drinks, wines used in the most
luxurious and expensive hotels in the world. The butler's position is not easy;
you take care of ultra-expensive and luxurious suites where I was a connection
between the company and the guests - explained Zlatko, adding that clients who
came to these ships arrived by private planes. Training for this job was
constant; he highlighted one in Vienna where the lecturers were people trained
in the royal family in England. Putting his own priorities first, which was a
return home, he applies the acquired experiences to a tourist complex near
Derventa.
- I definitely found myself in this job and improved a lot
independently, and what we are trying to do here is to apply those experiences
as much as possible. Our country has a very high tourism potential; however,
there are many other problems, primarily of the population itself, where we
underestimate ourselves compared to some other tourist destinations from the
start. I had the opportunity to exchange opinions with many guests from
America, England, Australia, and for them, some things that are everyday for us
are incomprehensible. One visitor from New York, who can only buy honey in a
supermarket, was thrilled with our honey when he realized that he could see
what the process of making looks like in numerous households throughout
Republika Srpska, Zlatko explained.
As a manager of the Babino Brdo complex, he says that
domestic tourism needs a more serious approach and development strategy.
Our guests seek peace, silence, nature, homemade food, and
so on, but it must be connected with good service, cultural approach of the
staff.
Okolić says he made a turning point when he realized that
here, along with a job he loves, he can lead a normal family life.