'Please help us protect the city,' mayor of Dubrovnik tells
cruise lines as he reaffirms drastic visitor cap
Hugh Morris
5 SEPTEMBER 2017 • 11:39AM
The mayor of Dubrovnik has told the cruise industry he is
committed to cutting the number of daily visitors to the old town to 4,000 –
and asked cruise lines to help.
Mayor Mato Franković revealed to Telegraph Travel last month
that he planned to cap the number of people allowed inside the city’s Medieval
walls to 4,000, half the Unesco recommendation of 8,000, in an effort to
protect the heritage site and improve the tourist experience. He admitted that
one of the key battlegrounds in achieving this would be moderating the arrival
of cruise ships and their thousands of day-trippers.
In a letter to Clia, the Cruise Lines International
Association, which counts among its 60 members Carnival, Royal Caribbean, TUI
and P&O, Franković urged the cruise lines to help protect Dubrovnik, which
he said was at a turning point.
“Our intention is to
offer a better quality of service which is currently under much strain due the
simultaneous arrival of so many guests from cruise ships,” he said.
“Therefore, a better planning of the daily arrivals of ships
to Dubrovnik is in everyone’s interests.
Crowds and cruise ships have 'ruined' Dubrovnik
“The city of Dubrovnik firmly maintains that we are not able
to accommodate more than 4,000 cruise passengers at the same time.”
The mayor, only elected in June, said he was sure the cruise
lines were aware that the current congestion experienced in the old town can
“dampen the experience for everyone” and recognised that the city’s “historical
heritage” was its main appeal.
He asked Clia to take “all the necessary steps” regarding
its members so that “together we can reduce the number of simultaneous arrivals
to Dubrovnik to 4,000 passengers”.
In a statement sent to Telegraph Travel, Clia said:
“Cruising represents a small part of tourism overall and our member lines plan
a long time in advance of their arrivals in port as they operate on
pre-determined itineraries, therefore allowing destinations to plan for their
arrival and visits.
“The cruise industry is deeply committed to protecting
cultural heritage and safeguarding the sustainable tourism in all of the
destinations that we visit around the world.”
Franković said in August the Croatian city needed to “reset”
after a period of unchecked growth in the number of day trippers and cruise
passengers that flood into the tiny old town each day.
Unesco last year warned Dubrovnik’s world heritage status
was at risk, while last month Telegraph Travel reported on local concerns that
the city was being blighted by the daily hordes.
Authorities announced in January that CCTV cameras would be
introduced to monitor – and, if necessary, stop – crowds passing through the
city’s three gates, but Franković says more must be done, including cancelling
cruise ship stops.
In 2016, 529 ships called there, bringing 799,916
passengers, up from 475 in 2015 and 463 in 2014.
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