This summer, tourists visiting the Croatian city of Dubrovnik must carry their wheeled suitcases instead of rolling them to avoid inconveniencing the locals.
In Dubrovnik, increased number of residents complain about the noise of rolling suitcases on the cobblestones. To ensure peace and reduce noise pollution, the Croatian city's mayor, Mato Franković, has taken a strong measure: starting in the summer of 2023, tourists will have to carry their suitcases by hand instead of rolling them through the historic center.
And from November, the city will install automatic lockers at various places in Dubrovnik, as it will then be forbidden to move around the city center with luggage.
The mayor plans to introduce a luggage delivery service for visitors. Guests can leave their luggage in designated lockers, and the city service will transport it to their place of stay for a fee. This is just the beginning, as the city authority aims to establish a logistics center at the airport, enabling direct luggage delivery to residents. Additionally, the mayor has closed a downtown bar's terrace that played loud music at night to address noise pollution. The Tourist Office has created a "Respect the City" video campaign to remind visitors of certain rules, such as not walking bare-breasted or riding motorcycles/scooters in the city center.
Since the beginning of the year, Dubrovnik has recorded 289,000 arrivals and 763,500 overnight stays, a 32 percent increase over the same period in 2022. The rest of the country has also seen a resurgence in activity since the start of the year, thanks in part to its entry into the Schengen area (which facilitates border crossings) and the adoption of the euro.