November the 12th, 2024 – A heritage and sustainable tourism conference is set to be held in Rovinj. Culture and historical heritage are two of Croatia’s main lures in terms of tourism, and there are very few more fitting locations than this beautiful Istrian town.
As Morski writes, as stated, cultural and historical heritage are by far the most significant advantage and most important resource of Croatian tourism, the revenues of which represented an impressive 19.6% of GDP last year.
In addition to income, tourism, which has crossed the threshold of sustainability in many parts of Croatia, also causes issues that represent real challenges for the cities and municipalities where it takes place. That goes without even mentioning the endless problems caused to the local populations in tourist oriented areas. It is precisely in this very excessive (over)development of tourism where crucial advantages become threatened. In the case of Croatia, that crucial advantage is its rich cultural, historical and natural heritage.
The Croatian Association of Historic Cities (HUPG) in cooperation with its sister French association Sites & Citès Remarquable de France is organising an international conference called “Heritage and Sustainable Tourism”. This conference focusing on sustainable tourism will put Rovinj in the limelight. It is set to take place on November the 28th and 29th, and will bring together experts and decision makers, who will exchange their experiences and offer solutions to improve the quality of life of local people, and work to properly develop sustainable tourism in historic cities.
The French association Sites & Citès Remarquable will bring representatives of French cities that have distinguished themselves in solving the problems faced by Croatian historical cities. The goal of the conference on sustainable tourism in Rovinj is to learn from various European examples of good practice and to find answers to questions that plague multiple Croatian historical cities.
The sustainable tourism conference in Rovinj will focus on multiple points of interest, they include: The building of a complete tourist offer that includes and adds value to the tradition and heritage of a given destination. In addition, it will delve more deeply into issues such as reconciling the need to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of Croatian cities with their economic exploitation, and how we might achieve balance between providing housing for the resident population of Croatia’s historic cores and accommodation for tourists.
That isn’t all, however, as the conference will dive into reconciling the development of tourism and the quality of life of the resident population, and what can we do regarding access to historic centres and the development of “soft mobility” solutions. Soft mobility solutions include access to historic centres that are usually pedestrian zones, solving parking, supply and delivery issues, and the efficient waste collection in historic centres. The conference will also look into the negative effects of climate change.
Sustainable tourism has become a buzzword that many roll their eyes at, especially in many Croatian examples which couldn’t be further from “sustainable” if they tried. EU funds are a great resource to tap into for the financing of cultural heritage restoration, both private and public, and this topic will also be explored.
The upcoming Rovinj conference represents an excellent opportunity to exchange best practices from across Croatia and France – two of the most visited countries in the world, as well as to build new partnerships.
