WHAT IS A HOLIDAY, REALLY?

We’re talking more and more about the high prices in tourism. So much so, that a narrative is forming in our minds before we even start packing: How will I manage? What will I spend? It’s going to be expensive.

PHOTO: Jezero Laminci / See Srpska

While perceptions of value and cost are always relative, and while not everything is for everyone, still — going to the seaside shouldn’t be a luxury. It’s not supposed to be.

Those who grew up by the sea know this well. Like me. The sea is close, familiar. It doesn’t ask for equipment. It doesn’t demand preparation.

It asks only for your time. And your presence.

Unlike, say, skiing — because even those born at 1,500 meters above sea level need gear to ski. But the sea? It’s just there. Whether it’s snowing or not. And it’s not snowing, more and more often.

But then I see a 24.5 square meter apartment priced at €150 per night? That’s not a realistic price. That’s a market absurdity. That’s greed. And I don’t say this out of anger, but disappointment.

Because when the offer doesn’t match the price, we lose what tourism is really supposed to be about: the feeling of being welcome. Of being valued. Of someone wanting to give you something beautiful — not just seeing you as a walking ATM.

In many destinations, tourists are treated like walking wallets. So who are the actual service providers? Typing a few numbers into an ATM doesn’t take skill or time. Right?

Is minimal interaction — at unrealistic prices — a cover for lack of knowledge or will? Nothing kills the feeling of hospitality more than that.

With restaurants, we at least have options. I only get upset if the food is bad and the service is worse. I can tolerate inexperience. I can forgive youth. I support the desire to learn. Let it be at my expense even. But don’t charge me as if I’m dining at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Because I’m not.

But these countless apartments, or beaches for that matter — gated, fenced off, branded — where every breath, every hour, every drop of water from the shower has a price. That’s where you no longer have a choice. You’re already there.

And so begins the ever-present calculator in the mind: a notebook, a pencil, the mental math. Ice cream today, no coffee tomorrow. And don’t even start on traveling with children. Try explaining to a child: “No, not today — because yesterday we did.”

Which brings us to the question: What is a holiday, really? Do we rest, or do our brains just work 24/7 in “budget mode”? Is this really an escape from work — or just a new kind of stress?

We spend more time looking for a decent meal than enjoying it. More time hunting for affordable accommodation than actually relaxing in it.

And yet, there are ways to rest that don’t hurt your wallet — or your mind.

Look to lakes. Rivers. Countryside homes. Vineyards. Nature. Look to people. To family farms where you’re a guest, not a client. Where you’re not charged for a view, or for a spot to lay your towel.

Maybe it won’t be ten days. Maybe not even five. Maybe just two. But those two days? You’ll really be present. No calculations. No pressure. No stress.

The sea is good. The sea is free. I love simple things. I love the sea. Let’s go to the sea.

But today, people are making the sea into everything it shouldn’t be — stripping it of simplicity, taking away its freedom. And in doing so, taking away yours, too.

And that sense of freedom? That’s what we really travel for.

A holiday should not be a luxury. A holiday is a right.

And the right to freedom should never come with a price tag. Or at least — not one this high.

By Marko Radić, Head of Tourism Promotion at the Tourist Organization of the Republic of Srpska.