The popular Dubrovnik Mayor steps up his game in his fight to reduce cruise ship numbers in the Pearl of the Adriatic.
As Poslovni Dnevnik reports on the 12th of August, 2017, Dubrovnik plans to drastically reduce the number of visitors who would at one time be allowed to enter the walls within the next two years. Through such a move, the city wants to prevent further damage to its UNESCO historic core, Mato Franković explained the situation for the British Telegraph amid several international headlines drawing public attention to various destinations throughout Europe growing sick of being overrun.
Franković decided to go below the limits recommended by UNESCO in its most serious warning to Dubrovnik, which was 8,000 visitors within the walls at any one time, saying he wants to cut the numbers even further and limit it to a mere 4,000 people.
”With this move, we want to ensure a quality experience of visiting Dubrovnik to our guests. We don’t want to go to the maximum” stated Franković, who was elected to this position back in June.
Last year, UNESCO warned Dubrovnik that the preservation of its prestigious status as a UNESCO World Heritage site could be under threat due to the uncontrolled masses of tourists who descend daily, all day long, into the city center.
At the beginning of April, cameras equipped with people counters were placed at all entrances to the Old City in order for local authorities to slow down and redirect traffic if the cameras state that too many people are inside the walls.
“I’m not here to make people happy, but to improve the quality of life in the city. The cruisers will not agree with me, but my main goal is to provide quality for tourists, and that will not happen if the situation remains as it is. For the next two years, we will lose the profit of tourism, we will lose maybe a million euros, but in the long run [it] will pay. We deserve to be a top quality destination” Franković told the Telegraph.
Otherwise, Mato Franković has continued to make some very admirable moves in his political career, gaining support from even the most unexpected individuals and groups in Dubrovnik. He has stuck by all of his pre-election promises and continues to do everything in his power to put the residents of the city and their desires before anything else.
Excerpts taken and translated from Poslovni.hr
