Abta Sustainable Tourism Conference: Overtourism, water sca Continued from page 56
traffic flow. Growth after Covid has not been uniform. In addition, we’re suffering geopolitical conflict with increased military action and flight restrictions and increasing extreme weather phenomena. Together, it places a strain on capacity.” He argued: “It’s a multi-phased
problem, not [due to] a single problem or actor.” Hernández also pointed
out: “We need more air traffic controllers. But the problem with the availability of air traffic controllers is complex – training takes two to three years and recruitment is based on long-term planning not short-term demand. Recruitment for 2024 was based on 2021 traffic, which was expected to be 15% down on 2019.” EasyJet chief operating officer
David Morgan reported a 41% increase in delays in the first two months of this year, describing this as a “worrying sign we’re moving in the wrong direction” and noted: “The southeast axis across Europe remains one of the biggest concerns.” He said: “I can hardly
remember a year when we’ve not had staffing issues. The cost of delays is eye-watering – it’s costing hundreds of millions to airlines.” Morgan said easyJet was
looking at whether “we can fly around the most-congested areas” and pointed out: “Everyone likes to talk about realistic schedules, [but] it’s not always easy. Airlines must adhere to a schedule or risk losing [airport] slots.” He acknowledged: “Delays
are getting worse. They are part and parcel of summer, but staffing delays should be exceptional. Every year in the peak summer period we’re struggling with staffing.”
Dubrovnik ‘restored’ after managing flow of visitors
Dubrovnik has restored its reputation as an appealing destination by managing its flow of visitors, according to the city’s mayor, after being described as “ruined” by overtourism in 2017. Mato Frankovic, who was elected in
2017, said: “We had to do something to return Dubrovnik to its citizens.” Addressing the Abta Sustainable
Travel Conference, he showed photographs of tourist crowds surging through Dubrovnik’s Old City and said: “This is what mass tourism looks like. The result was negative headlines: ‘The death of Dubrovnik, cruise ships have ruined the city.’ The quality of life was bad, the quality of services was bad.” But Frankovic explained: “Our
economy is based on tourism. We said, ‘Let’s not erect barriers, let’s manage tourism’. “We defined three types of visitors:
cruise passengers, daily visitors and those staying overnight. Each was important to the economy, but it
Mayor takes steps to regulate cruise and land tourists
Mayor of Dubrovnik Mato Frankovic has worked on ways to manage day visitors, who are the second-biggest group of arrivals after cruise ship passengers. Previously, there had been no
control on tourism buses entering the city, with Dubrovnik hosting 200 buses a day. Frankovic said: “We started requiring buses to
54 3 APRIL 2025
Crowds in Dubrovnik
was easiest to manage cruise ships.” He noted four to six cruise ships
arrived “at the same time” each day on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, each staying about four hours, with thousands of passengers disembarking to visit the Old City. Frankovic said: “So, we targeted
the cruise companies as partners, not our enemies.” He contacted cruise association Clia, saying “we have a major problem and want to cooperate with you” and a meeting was arranged with cruise line bosses. The outcome was an agreement
book arrival slots. Operators are fined €2,000 if a bus turns up without a booking and, if a cruise ship comes in, we block the bookings. It works perfectly.” His administration sought to
manage a third group of visitors, those staying overnight in the city, by creating a Dubrovnik Pass. This offers entry to all attractions, plus two bus rides for the price of a single ticket to the City Hall. He noted 80% of overnight
visitors bought the pass last year, adding that from this year “visitors will be obliged to reserve a spot to visit the City Hall and City Museum”.
that only two ships at a time would visit Dubrovnik and stay for a minimum eight hours. That allowed trips to the Old City to be staggered while the cruise companies offered alternative excursions. Frankovic said: “We lost some
partners, but we discovered how many passengers we could accept in a day, in a month and a year. The problem was not the numbers but the flow. If the flow is good, the numbers can go up.” The city also took action to
create more space in the Old City. Frankovic said: “We cut the number of [outside] tables and chairs. Of course, restaurant and bar owners weren’t happy. We also removed the souvenir stands from public squares.” The owners were angry, he said, but added: “We did it not counting on [winning] a future election. The future of the city is more important.” Frankovic, who was re-elected
mayor in 2021, insisted: “Sustainability can’t happen by itself. It’s a daily task.”
Mato Frankovic
The city also launched a smart
parking system, electric car-sharing and a feedback mechanism for residents, and Frankovic said: “We’re now targeting affordable housing. We passed a law so it’s not easy to turn a home into a short-term rental.”
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Frederick Jansohn
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