Dubrovnik has been going through a good tourism year. In January and February, the Croatian city registered increases in visitors. However, overall the country struggles to attract tourists during the winter season. Partly due to the climate, but also because insufficient flight connections.
According to official figures, 18,913 tourists arrived in Dubrovnik in February. This is an increase of 1% compared to 2017. Moreover, about 54,000 overnight stays were recorded. In the first two months of the year, over 33 thousand tourists arrived in Dubrovnik. This is an increase of 4% compared to last year.
However, every coin has two sides. Dubrovnik is one of the most popular cruise spots in the eastern Mediterranean. As such, the city needs to face overtourism. When thousands of tourists arrive on the many cruise ships, there is no getting through the picturesque town.
In 2017, the port city has recorded 538 arrivals of cruise ships carrying over 742,000 passengers.
However, cruise companies have recognized this problem for some time already. The cruise industry is moving in a direction to regulate the situation as much as possible. Just recently, major cruise lines have agreed to coordinate their schedules during the summer season in Dubrovnik.
According to this agreement, cruise companies will regulate their ship arrivals to prevent the city’s port and the city itself from overcrowding and overtourism. It could also lead to moving some ship arrivals to the middle of the week instead of weekends.
“In the end, our guests do not want to go to a place that is overcrowded,” says Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation.
Donald also continued saying that cruise companies need to show empathy with regards to overtourism. This problem is not an issue of Dubrovnik only, but also destinations like Barcelona, Venice or the Greek island Santorini.