Little by little, Motovun is turning into another ghost town typical of central Istria. The enthusiasm of the last few years has petered out. Many young or youngish newcomers, who have delighted us all with their arrival, are now talking about their options. Most of them want to spend winters somewhere else, and some of them are thinking about moving out of the town altogether. The growing local sentiment against newcomers, Croatian and foreign alike, undoubtedly plays a part in all this, but there are many other reasons for the exodus: xenophobic Croatian laws concerning residence and work, low level of economic development of Istria, and the ever-deeper economic crisis that now threatens the economic base of the peninsula: tourism. Chances are that Motovun will have to close during the winter months. Out of the tourist season, all cafés, restaurants, shops, and rooms or apartments for rent are only losing money. Little by little, the streets and squares of the town will be taken over by ghosts as soon as the weather turns sour.

Addendum (November 29, 2016)

As it turns out, my prediction of so many years ago has turned out right on the money. Out of the tourist season, Motovun is a ghost town for true. Chances are that this will never change, either. By now, newcomers in any numbers cannot be expected. The only silver lining on the gathering clouds is that the tourist season is likely to stretch in the near future. Although this largely depends on the weather, it also depends on what is on offer. And this is where Motovun depends on the rest of Istria, where much more needs to be offered to tourists in the years to come. With some clever planning and nifty coordination, many improvements are imaginable. By and by, the tourist season may well stretch over at least ten months per year by comparison with today’s eight at most. A ghost town or not, Motovun thus appears to have a bright future. The bulk of tourists will not even notice that local inhabitants are conspicuous by their absence. In short, everything will be hunky-dory in the foreseeable future. As for the longer run, who the hell cares!