After Game of Thrones, tourists have made a pilgrimage to Dubrovnik.
But now the Croatian city has had enough of overtourism, and intends to introduce a series of measures to combat it.
Do you remember King's Landing in Game of Thrones? When the popular TV series was to depict life in the capital of Westeros, it was Dubrovnik in Croatia that was used as a model.
Since then, the number of visitors to what has been marketed as the ”Pearl of the Adriatic” has skyrocketed.
This is how Dubrovnik will limit tourists
But now Dubrovnik – like several other cities in southern Europe – has grown tired of the number of tourists. In The Independent's travel podcastMayor Mato Frankovic talks about a series of measures the city plans to introduce in the hope of limiting the number of visitors:
■ Starting next year, advance booking is required to visit the city walls.
■ The number of cruise ships is limited to two per day, and they must stay for at least eight hours. Bus travel is also regulated.
■ Rental housing is being reviewed, and the city is buying up apartments that younger families can live in at low rent. The number of restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops is also being reviewed.
Believes in sustainable tourism
According to Mato Frankovic, tourists have been dissatisfied with the fact that there are too many people and he hopes that this will now improve, while at the same time wanting more people to live in the Old Town.
– We want to achieve a higher quality of service and provide the best possible experience, says the mayor in the podcast, according to The Independent.
And:
– In 2017, cruise ships used to stop for only four hours. People ran into the city, took a picture and left.
The mayor wants to emphasize that Dubrovnik welcomes visitors, saying that 80 percent of the city's residents make a living from tourism, but that tourists no longer want to be in overcrowded cities.
– The cities that are prepared for sustainable tourism will become leaders. Our main goal is for Dubrovnik to live.
Source: Expressen.se
