More international coverage for the Pearl of the Adriatic from The Telegraph.
If I had a euro for every time someone (that someone being me, a lot of the time) talked about cruise ships, hoardes of people, stampedes of selfie stick wielding tour groups and the general inability to do, well, almost anything peacefully as a local in Dubrovnik, I’d be very rich.
Thankfully, the respected British publication The Telegraph has cottoned on to Dubrovnik’s ever-worseing plight, echoing the sentiments of local people and rightly mentioning that only just over 1,000 people actually live in the Old Town. Just imagine for a second what it’s like for them during the height of the season under the blistering sun and a sea of cruise ship disembarkees?
Another excellent and valid point the British media giant highlights is the comparison to Venice, a city which has long protested against cruise ship tourism and the slow but steady destruction of the heart and soul of the Italian gem. Just recently, Venetians successfully protested against cruise ships entering the city in such impossible volumes and that move was met with nothing but praise from most people here in Dubrovnik. Those who see that there is indeed more to life than money, however important it may be.
Dubrovnik’s soul is gradually being chipped away for the sake of cash, and in a city with such an incredible history, a city with such culture and such character – that is hardly forgivable. To quote The Telegraph on the topic of Venice: ”the city’s soul is being ripped out by wave after wave of day trippers” – Terminology which could very easily be applied to the Pearl of the Adriatic.
The Telegraph also noted the warnings Dubrovnik received first hand from UNESCO, who have been incredibly unhappy with the city’s poor management, obvious greed and the sheer volume of people for a very long time, and have issued several ”yellow cards” which could even go as far as to threaten the city’s prized UNESCO status.
I won’t go on and on, because I could do that forever, and it takes me forever to fight through the traffic to buy some milk at Pemo, so I’ll let you read for yourselves. Click here to read The Telegraph’s fantastic article in full.
