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Vale Life : Jun/Jul 201546
l Column: Small World with Robyn Bourne
Having recently returned from a glorious holiday in Croatia I was reminded just how easy, and
important, it is to Keep Trade Local. We stayed in a small,
independent boutique hotel in Dubrovnik. The hotel bought fish from the fisherman each day, got its meat delivered from a farmer further inland and supported the local markets by buying fruit and veg, daily. The food in the restaurant was fresh, delicious and actually tasted of something, whilst being reasonably priced.
On our walk into the city we saw ‘bookers’ for local tourist companies, all earning their living by encouraging you to book with them for the tourist day trips.
They were polite and friendly and not pushy. We could have booked direct with holiday companies, but how much of this money goes back into the local economy?
We asked questions and got a feeling of what we were buying, as well as paying a lot less than
booking through a UK agent.One trip we did really
emphasised how much can be done locally. We booked a day’s cycling tour with wine tasting. We were picked up by our guide and off we went. Journeying to our starting point the guide stopped a number of times to allow us to get photos of some very scenic shots, telling us about the history of where we were at the same time.
On arrival we set off on our bikes to collect from the local restaurant our lunch (bread made by them that morning, cheese from a neighbouring farm and ham that had been bred and cured by them, lettuce and tomatoes grown on site) we then cycled to top up our water bottles directly from the wonderfully cold stream.
A few kilometres later we were cycling through the vineyards that grew the grapes for the wine we were yet to taste, as well as figs and apricots that we were able to buy in Dubrovnik from market stalls. The wine was of course
local, and after the cycling, a well deserved treat.
On our journey home our guide made a quick stop at the side of a road to buy us the sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted, warm and freshly picked that morning and sold by the man who had grown and picked them.
We continued our journey home with me feeling very virtuous about all of the exercise that I had just done and trying to tot up how many more glasses of the very tasty local wine it would entitle me to when we drove past a retail park in the middle of nowhere with a Lidl. Just one signpost showing people that it was even there... the first, and only, sign of a multinational retailer during our trip.
Dubrovnik is a thriving and picturesque city; it is also a busy sea port and is now party to cruise liners coming in and out every day. One day alone last year, so our taxi driver informed us, there was an influx of 25,000 people into the city.
How important is it, therefore, for the locals to be able to tout their trade and ensure that they can make the most of the economic opportunities that are being presented to them.
By doing this how many of us, without even realising it, are helping support local businesses and how can we take this idea home with us at the end of our holidays, as well as a very tasty bottle or two of red?
l Robyn Bourne is the Development Manager for the Thames Valley region of the Federation of Small Businesses supporting 7,500 local members and helping them lobby on issues that are of importance to small businesses. www.fsb.org.uk
Robyn BourneSmall World
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