Many cities all over the world are at present grappling with overtourism, inflicting its locals to develop more and more hostile in the direction of vacationers.
However, regardless of its speedy rise in reputation in recent times, one metropolis claims to have mastered a steadiness which effectively accommodates vacationers whereas retaining its folks completely happy and its metropolis secure.
Dubrovnik, one in every of Croatia’s most iconic vacationer locations, is taking important steps to handle overtourism and protect the standard of life for residents whereas sustaining its attraction to guests.
As a UNESCO World Heritage Web site, the town’s medieval Outdated City has lengthy been a magnet for vacationers, significantly because of its position as a filming location for main productions like Sport of Thrones.
Nonetheless, the inflow of mass tourism, particularly through the peak summer season months, has put appreciable pressure on its infrastructure and native inhabitants.
To fight these challenges, Dubrovnik has launched a sequence of initiatives geared toward decreasing overcrowding and making certain sustainable tourism practices.
Talking with Day by day Categorical, Miro Drašković, Director of the Dubrovnik Vacationer Board, accepted that the town faces its share of challenges, nevertheless it has strategic measures in place to make sure it’s not inundated with vacationers.
“This yr, Dubrovnik has efficiently managed to stabilise the variety of guests throughout the primary vacationer season to ranges much like the earlier yr, indicating that the town’s efforts to manage peak season tourism are working,” Drašković mentioned.
Central to this effort is a cap on the variety of cruise ships that may dock every day.
As one of many busiest cruise ports within the Mediterranean, the town beforehand noticed tens of hundreds of cruise passengers disembark every day, typically overwhelming the slim streets.
Below the brand new rules, solely two cruise ships are allowed to dock at anyone time, considerably decreasing the surge of holiday makers.
With roughly 27 vacationers for each native resident, Drašković acknowledged that whereas tourism brings financial advantages corresponding to enterprise alternatives and job creation, there’s additionally a must handle customer numbers to keep away from overcrowding.
“Many locals admire tourism’s financial advantages, corresponding to elevated enterprise alternatives and job creation,” he mentioned.
“Nonetheless, there’s additionally consciousness of the necessity to handle the variety of guests to forestall overcrowding and keep the standard of life for residents.”
Moreover, the town has launched a brand new digital reservation system for vacationers wishing to go to widespread points of interest like the town’s historic partitions beginning January 1, 2025.
By limiting the variety of tickets out there per day, the system goals to ease congestion at key vacationer spots.
The preservation of Dubrovnik’s cultural and infrastructural integrity is a prime precedence.
“Croatia faces challenges much like different widespread vacationer locations, however Dubrovnik has been actively working to mitigate potential injury to its infrastructure and cultural monuments,” he mentioned.
Dubrovnik’s mayor, Mato Franković, has additionally led efforts to work with main journey platforms like Reserving.com and Airbnb to handle short-term leases extra successfully.
By regulating the variety of leases within the Outdated City, the town hopes to take care of a steadiness between tourism and the wants of its residents.
Town has additionally carried out a “Respect the Metropolis” marketing campaign, encouraging accountable tourism.
This initiative consists of restrictions on behaviour corresponding to consuming and consuming in public areas, and it goals to advertise higher consciousness amongst guests of the cultural and historic significance of the town.
These measures are a part of a broader technique to make sure Dubrovnik stays a vibrant vacation spot for each vacationers and locals whereas defending its historic allure and cultural heritage from the unfavorable impacts of mass tourism.
Early indicators recommend these efforts are serving to to scale back the pressure on the town’s infrastructure whereas enhancing the general expertise for guests.