Strong Line Up for Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence Finale

Another 05:00 start tomorrow, then a 7-hour drive. Destination Dubrovnik.

Every visit to the Pearl of the Adriatic in this pandemic era has been one of joy, as the city has been relieved of the burdern of overtourism and been given a chance to breathe and reassess its tourism strategy. But tomorrow’s trip is all the more exciting, as it is linked to the finale of the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence (DNIR) program, probably the most interesting and innovative project I have been part of in my 10 years of writing about tourism in Croatia. Funded by our partners, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board, and conceived and delivered by Saltwater Nomads,DNIR is the first program of its kind in the world, and it has been an enriching and rewarding experience for all involved.

It is less than 4 weeks since these ten amazing humans (meet them in the video above) descended on Dubrovnik from all over the globe to take up their residence. Four weeks later, the strong bonds of friendship that they have developed with each other, as well as the wider Dubrovnik community, has been a joy to observe. As has their collaboration on the task at hand – to work with the city, the tourist board, the local community, and each other to come up with effective recommendations and strategies to enable Dubrovnik to better take advantage of the digital nomad opportunity.

The resident nomads will be working on their presentations of their findings, which will be presented initially to a limited audience on Friday evening aboard the Karaka, before the finale program on Saturday.

The panel line ups give me real hope that the seeds of this great opportunity have already found fertile ground.

Dubrovnik is extremely well represented by Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Frankovic, Deputy Mayor, Jelka Tepsic, and Dubrovnik Tourist Board Director, Ana Hrnic. It is also particularly pleasing to see Petra Marsic from the Zagreb Tourist Board also taking part in the panel discussions. In partnership with Saltwater Nomads and TCN, Zagreb Tourist Board will host Zagreb Digital Nomad Week & Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador Project begins on June 21.

All three co-founders of the Digital Nomad Association – Jan de Jong, Tanja Polegubic and Karmela Tancabel – will also be present.

Croatian business has given enthusiastic support to the initiative, and Raiffeisen Bank, Hrvatski Telekom, and KPMG will be among the companies taking part. There has also been some great input throughout the month from various organisations working in the field of sustainable tourism, and Ranko Milic from EUPOLIS will no doubt have a lively contribution to make.

And not least, the nomads themselves, with several taking part in the sessions as moderators. A great mix of ideas, viewpoints and experiences. The whole event will be filmed and made available soon after it takes place.

A little more information from the official press release:

The Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence (DN-I-R) have been in Dubrovnik for 4 weeks. On Saturday 22nd May, leading public, private and non profit sector experts will join the DN-I-Rs for a series of panel discussions. These panels will define the way forward for Croatia’s digital nomad movement.

The panel session topics include regenerative tourism, business, women and remote workers with Croatian family connections.

Panel 1 features city leaders, including Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, Dubrovnik Tourist Board Director, Ana Hrnić , Petra Maršić (Zagreb Tourist Board), DN-I-R program director Tanja Polegubić (Saltwater), Ranko Milić (EUPOLIS/CEDRA). This panel is moderated by leading blue economy expert and Digital Nomad-in-Residence, Ron Tardiff.

The Digital Nomad Association (DNA) Croatia are sponsoring a session on how business can support digital nomads in Croatia. This panel features Jan de Jong (DNA Croatia), Liana Keserić (Raiffeisen Bank Croatia), Kristina Grbavac (KPMG), Marijana Bašić (Hrvatski Telekom), Nino Dubretić (Direct Booker) and Nikolina Trojić (HGK).

A large number of applicants to the Dubrovnik DN-I-R program were women, particularly from North America. Croatia has a strong reputation as a safe destination for women. In panel 3, experienced (and newbie) women who are embarking on a digital nomad journey, share tips and trends for this audience.

The final panel is moderated by our DN-I-R who holds a PhD in skilled migration, Kaisu Koskela. Panel 4 looks at Croatians with heritage and spouses, who are coming to Croatia to work remotely in growing numbers since the onset of the pandemic. This panel features digital nomads in Croatia with dual citizenship, Deputy Mayor Jelka Tepšić and Paul Bradbury from Total Croatia News.