Left Without Paid Accommodation: Banja Luka Residents Scammed in Makarska

Caution can never be too much. That is something fifty passengers, who decided to spend an extended weekend in Makarska, know best today. Marko Ivanović never thought to inquire further about the accommodation he booked through a travel agency in Banja Luka, reports the Patria news agency.

The mere fact and promise that he would get an apartment with a sea view was enough for him not to check anything. He was shocked upon arriving in Makarska.

“We arrived there at half past six. We didn't even get accommodation. We had to take care of it ourselves. At 12 o'clock they told us the apartments would be ready at 2, then at 2 they said they would be ready at 7, then at 7 that they would be ready sometime by evening. However, I couldn't wait and found accommodation on my own,” said Marko Ivanović.

Banja Luka resident Sara Petković also had to fend for herself for accommodation. Waiting all day in the sun by the bus and the promise to wait for the guests to leave the apartment ruined her planned vacation.

“In the end, we ended up at 7 in the evening with a storm that was going on at the time, without accommodation,” says Sara Petković.

The director of the travel agency “Oaza” from Banja Luka, Milenko Karalić, claims that twenty out of the fifty passengers who traveled through the agency had to find new accommodation. The passengers were left empty-handed because Italians who are staying longer at the seaside arrived, so three days of our tourists' stay fell through, Karalić explains.

“When they have an offer for ten days, they cancel at that moment, they don't care about our one-night stay. I can't say there hasn't been a crowd this year, but what happened now has never happened before,” stated Milenko Karalić, director of the travel agency “Oaza” Banja Luka.

The agency owner assures that he did not deceive his passengers. The promise to personally compensate them for the lost days also fell through.

“I deny that this is a scam, what happened happened, and I will give a free stay to anyone who was affected,” Karalić emphasized.

Disappointed passengers have been waiting for a refund in front of the travel agency since this morning. Police officers also inquired about the entire case in the afternoon. The owner promises everyone that no one will be left without their money and deserved compensation, ATV reported.