GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM COUNCIL DESTINATION ASSESSMENT Dubrovnik, Croatia 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................................................4 Acronyms........................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables.....................................................................................................................................................................................6 List of Figures...................................................................................................................................................................................7 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................................8 Overview of Tourism in Dubrovnik ......................................................................................................................................11 A. Geography and Tourism Statistics..................................................................................................................11 B. Tourism Products and Attractions...................................................................................................................17 Assessment Methodology........................................................................................................................................................22 Summary of Key Findings........................................................................................................................................................26 A. Destination Assessment Findings..................................................................................................................26 B. Stakeholder Action Planning Based on Assessment Results............................................................32 Priority Issue 1: Sustainability Standards......................................................................................35 Priority Issue 2: Environmental and Natural Resources Infrastructure and Awareness .................................................................................................................36 Priority Issue 3: Crisis and Emergency Management...............................................................38 Priority Issue 4: Transport and Traffic Control.............................................................................39 Priority Issue 5: Resident Satisfaction and Public Participation in Destination Decision Making.......................................................................................................41 Priority Issue 6: Supporting Local Entrepeneurs........................................................................42 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................................................................45 Annexes............................................................................................................................................................................................46 A. Findings of Good Practice...................................................................................................................................46 B. Summary of Stakeholders Consulted............................................................................................................51 C. GSTC Destination Assessment - Onsite Itinerary.....................................................................................61 D. Completed Assessment Matrix.........................................................................................................................67 E. Other Priorities.....................................................................................................................................................109 References....................................................................................................................................................................................111 © Global Sustainable Tourism Council 2020 Copyright and ownership of the intellectual property contained in this report remains with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council unless otherwise agreed. Document Control, version 1.0 Prepared by Ioannis PAPPAS, GSTC Destination Assessor GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM COUNCIL DESTINATION ASSESSMENT Dubrovnik, Croatia 2019 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dubrovnik is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean—known as “the pearl of the Adriatic”. Tourism to Dubrovnik has grown steadily in recent years. During 2013-2016, arrivals increased by 357,513, or by a quarter (28.80%). In 2018, Dubrovnik received almost 1.3 million overnight visitors. Additionally, Dubrovnik welcomes around 9,000-9,500 (9,334 at 22nd of August 2019) cruise passengers daily during peak season, divided equally in the morning and afternoon. While bolstering Dubrovnik’s economy, this growth has resulted in operational difficulties such as traffic congestion, overcrowding of sites and attractions, degradation of important assets, resident alienation, and other challenges. To diagnose and begin addressing some of the stress points and plan for more sustainable management, the City of Dubrovnik commissioned a Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Destination Assessment of the City, applying the GSTC Criteria for Destinations (Version 1, 2013) - The United Nations-founded standard for sustainable management of tourism destinations. The GSTC Destination Assessment was funded by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) as part of CLIA’s partnership with Dubrovnik to collaboratively address tourism sustainability in the City. CLIA appreciates GSTC’s requirement that, as funder, CLIA is allowed no editorial input into the content of this report. GSTC urges the GSTC conducted the Destination Assessment in November-December 2019, working closely with Dubrovnik’s Tourism Board and Dubrovnik Development City to monitor Agency. Applying GSTC’s Assessment methodology, GSTC reviewed law and policy documentation governing City management, and consulted about progress adopting 70 key stakeholders and leading organizations from national and local government, private sector, NGOs and academia, and residents, through the GSTC standard, extensive meetings to evaluate the City’s performance against the GSTC Criteria for Destinations. using these GSTC The GSTC standard covers four main pillars of destination sustainability: Assessment (1) destination policy and planning, (2) community involvement and bene- fits, (3) management of cultural and natural assets, and (4) environmental findings as a and natural resource management. The GSTC Destination Assessment of Dubrovnik found that considerable tourism management improvements are baseline. 2019 GSTC Destination Assessment - Dubrovnik 1 needed to ensure long-term health of the destination. Of the 105 indicators in GSTC’s standard, 12 (11.4%) were rated excellent, 47 (44.8%) were rated good with some improvements needed, 37 (35.2%) identified medium-risk areas, and 9 (8.6%) were flagged as high-risk areas. In December 2019, based on GSTC’s initial findings of the City’s performance in these areas, 34 stakeholders participated in a workshop to prioritize their most urgent and important six issues to focus on in the coming period. Participants designed action projects to address the following issues they flagged as priorities: • Sustainability Standards • Environmental and Natural Resource Infrastructure and Awareness • Crisis and Emergency Management • Transport and Traffic Control • Resident Satisfaction and Public Participation in Destination Decision Making • Support for Local Entrepreneurs This report presents GSTC’s findings of Dubrovnik’s performance along the GSTC Criteria for Destinations, and the community-designed roadmap to address stakeholders’ priority risks. Dubrovnik’s participation in this GSTC Destination Assessment, the first in Croatia, shows the City’s commitment to destination stewardship. The GSTC Assessment took place before COVID-19 resulted in a full-blown global pandemic and economic crisis. Nevertheless, improving Dubrovnik’s crisis and emergency management planning and response was defined as a priority for local stakeholders. The overall findings and action plan from the GSTC Destination Assessment can inform future initiatives to ensure sustainable management of Dubrovnik. GSTC applauds the City for taking this step and urges the City to continue monitoring progress adopting the GSTC standard, using these GSTC Assessment findings as a baseline. 2 2019 GSTC Destination Assessment - Dubrovnik 2019 GSTC Destination Assessment - Dubrovnik 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of officials and individuals contributed to this GSTC Destination Assessment and action plan, including Mayor Mato Franković, Deputy Mayor Jelka Tepšić, Deputy Mayor Orlanda Tokić, President Marko Potrebica, Project Manager of Respect the City Ranko Milić,