Dubrovnik has come back with a plan to manage its flow of visitors. The city is located in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea and is one of the most popular tourist spots in the Mediterranean.

The plan comes following complaints after the destination was branded as ‘ruined’ by overtourism in 2017. The city’s mayor, Mato Frankovic, who was elected in 2017, said: “We had to do something to return Dubrovnik to its citizens.”

Addressing the Abta Sustainable Travel Conference in late March, Frankovic showed photographs of tourist crowds surging through Dubrovnik’s Old City and said: “This is what mass tourism looks like. The result was negative headlines such as ‘The death of Dubrovnik, cruise ships have ruined the city’. The quality of life was bad, the quality of services was bad.”

He added: “Our economy is based on tourism. We said: ‘Let’s not erect barriers, let’s manage tourism.’ 

“We defined three types of visitors – cruise passengers, daily visitors and those staying overnight. Each was important to the economy, but it was easiest to manage cruise ships.”

He noted that between four to six cruise ships arrived “at the same time” every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with thousands of passengers flocking into the Old City for hours at a time.

Frankovic said: “So, we targeted the cruise companies as partners, not our enemies.” 

He contacted cruise association CLIA, saying “we have a major problem and want to cooperate with you” and then a meeting was arranged with cruise line chief executives.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached stating that only two cruise ships could dock at the same time with a minimum stay of eight hours.

Meaning trips to the Old City could be staggered and alternative excursions could be offered.

Frankovic said: “We lost some partners, but we discovered how many passengers we could accept in a day, in a month and a year. The problem was not the numbers but the flow. If the flow is good, the numbers can go up.”

They also took action to create more space in the Old City including cutting the amount of outdoor seating available and removing souvenir stands from each public square. 

Frankovic added: “The owners were angry. We did it not counting on [winning] a future election. The future of the city is more important.” 

Also addressing the second largest tourist group, arriving by coach, Frankovic said: “We required buses to book arrival slots. Operators are fined €2,000 if a bus turns up without a booking and, if a cruise ship comes in, we block the bookings. It works perfectly.”

A Dubrovnik pass was created to manage overnight tourists, allowing them entry to all the city attractions plus two bus rides for the price of a single ticket to the City Hall.

Frankovic stated that 80% of overnight visitors bought the pass last year.

The city has also launched a smart parking system, electric car-sharing and a feedback mechanism for residents.

Frankovic said: “We are now targeting affordable housing. We passed a law so it’s not easy to turn a home into a short-term rental.”Frankovic, who was re-elected mayor in 2021, added: “Sustainability can’t happen by itself. It’s a daily task. It’s hard work. If you forget to manage it, it won’t happen.”