A mobile application will work to regulate the operation of tourist buses and taxis
The authorities of the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, popular with tourists, will limit visits to the Old City in 2025 as part of the fight against overturism, the Skift portal reports. “From 2025, a “special traffic zone” will appear in the Old Town of Dubrovnik. A mobile application will work to regulate the operation of tourist buses and taxis. The number of taxis that can enter the territory will be reduced from 9 thousand to 700. At the same time, cars with foreign license plates are prohibited from entering. And in the suburbs there will be an open parking lot Park and Ride, where tourists can park their cars and take public transport to the sights of the city,” the newspaper writes. As explained in the Dubrovnik City Hall, these measures became part of the “Respect the City” strategy launched in 2017 in search of a balance between tourism and the comfort of local residents. “Local residents will still be able to travel by car in the Old Town area. In turn, tourist buses will need to book entry places in advance through the city application,” said Deputy Mayor for Tourism Jelka Tepsic. According to the Ministry of Tourism, since the beginning of 2024, Dubrovnik has received more than 3 million tourists, which is 10% more than last year. Previously, the city began to charge a cruise tax, as well as limit the number of cruise ships, allowing only two on weekends and no more than 4,000 passengers per week. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Dubrovnik became a place of mass tourism due to the popular HBO TV series “Game of Thrones”, fragments of which were filmed in the city.