The City of Dubrovnik, the wider area of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and southern Dalmatia as a whole has a lot to offer when it comes not only UNESCO heritage, culture and history, but in terms of nature, too. From the beautiful island of Lokrum to Trsteno Arboretum, there’s a lot to see and much better connections to be had.
As Morski writes on the 29th of May, 2019, the “Historical Gardens of the Dubrovnik Region” project was presented at Dubrovnik’s City Hall during a press conference. The aim is to contribute to socio-economic development and raise awareness of the importance of protecting the natural heritage and the environment of this southern Dalmatian county.
The three-year project, worth 15.5 million kuna, initially began on the 1st of December 2018 and was co-financed with funds from the European Regional Development Fund in the amount of seventy percent, as was emphasised by Ivica Grilec of the Lokrum Reserve. He also announced a series of project activities.
The aim is to create a new tourist product based on two scenic natural heritage sites – The Trsteno Arboretum (Trsteno) and the much loved Botanical Garden located on the island of Lokrum, which lies just off the coast of the City of Dubrovnik.
”We’ll establish a new line between these two locations with a new ship with a capacity of fifty passengers at a value of 2.2 million kuna to increase the number of visitors to the Arboretum,” added Grilec.
Zrinka Raguž of the UO for European Funds and International Cooperation emphasised the value of the announced activities in the context of Dubrovnik’s city project “Respect the City”.
”This city administration has proven its orientation towards the use of European funds, which has spread to our institutions. I’m delighted with the fact that the Lokrum Reserve is involved in this and that this project will lean on the city project Respect the City, because it will enable us to disperse our tourist offer. I believe that the realisation [of this project] will be successful for the benefit of the local population, as well as the numerous guests who visit our city,” stressed Raguž.
Trsteno Arboretum’s director Ivan Šimić, emphasised the fact that linking these two historical areas of the wider Dubrovnik area is extremely important for increasing the number of visitors to the arboretum. The project’s activities set out the establishment of a thematic and educational trail through the historic arboretum’s olive grove among other things.
Romana Vlašić of Dubrovnik’s tourist board explained the role of the tourst board in the project through the design of three tourist packages to be offered to travel agencies, which will include all of the project activities.
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