Croatia fan warns:

“The beach smells like the landfill in Asten”

Plastic waste lines the beach near Rovinj on the Istrian peninsula.(Bild: zVg)

The main holiday season is beginning, thousands of Upper Austrians want to spend a relaxing beach vacation in Istria. But a man from Linz warns: the beaches are littered with garbage that has been washed into the sea by storms in northern Italy. Lawyers and consumer advocates know what options tourists have.

"I'm a big fan of Croatia and go there several times a year. But this time we had to cut our vacation short," reports a 64-year-old from Linz. He wants to remain unrecognized, but wants to warn tourists about the conditions.