ZAGREB, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Croatian taxi drivers protested on Monday against Uber which is allegedly illegally operating in the country.
In three major cities, Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, taxi drivers blocked traffic near the airports, causing traffic jams and long lines.
In Dubrovnik, Croatia's most famous tourist destination, dozens of passengers missed their flight due to the protest and massive tailbacks towards the city.
The protest happened just a day before the busiest tourist weekend in Croatia. Only in Split, more than 100 flights are expected to land on Saturday.
Minister of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, condemned the protest, arguing it paints a horrid picture of Croatia, which is bad for the country whose economy depends on tourism. Dubrovnik's mayor Mato Frankovic said that a taxi drivers protest is unacceptable.
"This is completely unacceptable for the city. What they did today in the midst of a tourist season is inexcusable. The fact is that Uber is operating illegally and the city is against Uber, but Croatian government has to deal with that problem. If taxi drivers want to protest they should do that in the capital Zagreb, not in Dubrovnik," Frankovic told N1 television in Croatia.
During the day, an incident happened in Dubrovnik when four taxi drivers were attacked.
On June 21, taxi drivers blocked one of the busiest streets in Croatian capital Zagreb, urging the government to ban Uber application in Croatia.
Uber launched the world's first UberBoat service on June 30 in three of Croatia's most-visited coastal destinations, namely Split, Island Hvar and Dubrovnik. UberBoat won't have any legal problems in the country, according to Davor Tremac, Uber Director for Southeast Europe.
