As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as stated, previous years, the mighty Dubrovnik City Walls broke record after record in terms of attendance, and the (often-complained-about) price of 200 kuna was formed in order to try to reduce crowds on the ancient walls which need special care in terms of their structure. There used to be up to 10,000 visitors a day walking them, taking panoramic photos of the stunning views of the Old Town and the Adriatic sea, but throughout the whole of 2020, there were not even 150,000 guests recorded.
Tremendous financial losses have also seen some reconstruction projects stopped in their tracks, according to a report from HRT.
”As for domestic tourists… if they send us an e-mail can get a ticket to walk the Dubrovnik City Walls for fifty kuna. This did stimulate people to go come and walk the walls, and the residents of Dubrovnik and the wider Dubrovnik-Neretva County have free admission,” says Renata Andjus, president of the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities.
However, in spite of that, there are days when there are more city employees present on the walls than there are foreign or indeed local visitors. If we compare and recall, back in pre-pandemic 2019, the walls were visited by a mind-boggling 1,250,000 visitors. In the tumultuous year of 2020, a mere 10 percent of that turnover was realised.
Again due to unprecedented financial losses, the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities had to take out a loan. Their priority is to provide salaries for about seventy employees. At the same time, they reorganised their monument heritage restoration projects.
”It was done in a way that we simply stopped many projects because it became impossible. We’ve finished or are finishing the projects that were almost done anyway – Ston and Pridvorje,” says Renata Andjus. Thanks to a donation of two million euros by Ivo Felner, the renovation of the Rector’s Palace on the nearby Elaphite island of Lopud, which lies just northwest of Dubrovnik, is now nearing completion. Still, everyone is hoping for a better 2021.
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