Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, sent an official letter to the Director of the Port of Dubrovnik, Blaž Pezo, to the Minister of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia, Oleg Butković and to the Minister of Tourism, Garí Cappelli, on the topic of arrivals of cruise ships in the 2018 and 2019.
Aware that there are existing contracts with cruising companies that expire in 2019, Mayor Franković expresses the need to coordinate the state and local levels of government to ensure the best possible allocation of ships’ arrivals in 2018, in order to achieve the highest quality of the total tourist offer in Dubrovnik, ‘the best destination on the Adriatic’ as our city is very often called.
‘The present situation is unsustainable and the pressures on the historic Old Town especially at the end of the week are burdensome, especially at the end of the week, where in only a few morning hours more than 7 thousand people enter the historical part of Dubrovnik. This does not to anything good in terms of preserving the monumental heritage, but also in terms of security, and at the end in the quality of a visitor experience’, Mayor pointed out. ‘The long-term goal of the City of Dubrovnik is to ensure that at one point within the walls there are no more than 4 thousand guests from cruise ships. We believe that this is the optimal number that ensures a quality life for the citizens of Dubrovnik and to offer our guests the best possible experience of traveling and enjoying the beauty of Dubrovnik. I am convinced that this goal can be achieved by better planning and dispersion of the arrival time of cruise ships, for which it’s necessary to work together‘, he added.
‘The City of Dubrovnik doesn’t separate the guests on any basis, which includes the way of arrival to the destination. However, we are firmly committed to provide a comfortable stay to all our guests regardless of the way they arrive. At the same time, the management of tourism in the destination aims to the pleasant life of our citizens as well, the reduction of traffic jams and in particular the pressure now held on the historic part of Dubrovnik, which has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1979′ Franković concluded.
