Dubrovnik, 2 June – The findings of the GSTC Destination Assessment of Dubrovnik were presented via video by Dr. Ioannis Pappas, Director for the Mediterranean Region at Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The session included participation from Mato Franković, Mayor of Dubrovnik, and Kelly Craighead, President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association. Attendees represented a range of stakeholders, including city officials, council members, travel agents, universities, and tourism associations.
The GSTC Destination Standard is structured around four key pillars of destination sustainability: destination policy and planning, community involvement and benefits, management of cultural assets, and management of environmental and natural resources. In this assessment, Dubrovnik achieved an overall score of 70%. Of the 105 indicators evaluated, 12 (11.4%) were rated excellent, 47 (44.8%) were rated good with improvements identified, 37 (35.2%) were assessed as medium risk, and 9 (8.6%) were classified as high risk.
Mato Franković noted the city’s positive reception of the assessment process, which was supported by Cruise Lines International Association, a partner of the City of Dubrovnik and a signatory to the Agreement on Cooperation in the Preservation and Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Dubrovnik. Reflecting on sustainable tourism in the context of the global health crisis and its impact on tourism-dependent economies, he referenced the city’s past recovery following the Siege of Dubrovnik. He emphasized that the city aims to avoid future scenarios where Dubrovnik becomes associated with excessive visitor pressure and diminished quality of life. “We have a great opportunity for a new beginning to define the standards for how to make our city a pleasant place to live, while respecting our main industry of tourism,” Mayor Franković emphasized.
The Mayor thanked the GSTC, stakeholders involved in the project, and CLIA for its continued cooperation. “I believe this report will be a new beginning of the story of a sustainable Dubrovnik and a sustainable way of managing our main industry of tourism,” concluded Mayor Franković.
The assessment was conducted by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council through site visits in November and December 2019, in collaboration with the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and the Dubrovnik Development Agency. Using the GSTC Assessment methodology, the process included consultation with 70 stakeholders across national and local government, the private sector, NGOs, universities, and local residents to evaluate performance against the GSTC Destination Standard.
CLIA’s President and CEO, Kelly Craighead, praised the commitment of the City of Dubrovnik in the development of sustainable tourism: “The GSTC Destination Assessment demonstrates the city of Dubrovnik’s continued commitment to moving tourism toward a sustainable future. The municipality should be applauded for its willingness to innovate, identify best practices, and agree on priorities for future action, and we believe that this destination assessment will help the city to improve even further its performance. The cruise industry is committed to sustainable tourism management, and we are proud to have contributed to the destination assessment as part of our partnership with Dubrovnik to collaboratively address sustainability in the city. The partnership between the cruise industry and Dubrovnik is a testament to what can be achieved through collaborative tourism initiatives to help preserve the heritage and environment of the world’s favourite destinations for future generations.”
“We at GSTC appreciate the partnership between the Dubrovnik Mayor’s office and CLIA to support a more community-friendly type of visitor experience,” says GSTC CEO Randy Durband. “City officials and stakeholders actively and strongly supported the assessment, with a very transparent process and sharing of our objective findings.”
Resources
More information about GSTC Destination Assessment available here.
Contact person for the GSTC Destination Assessment of Dubrovnik: GSTC Mediterranean Director Dr. Ioannis Pappas ioannis@gstcouncil.org
GSTC Destination Assessment – Dubrovnik 2019 Final Report
Recording of the press release presentation available on GSTC YouTube Channel:
