Dubrovnik wins praise as reforms move city in right direction
dubrovnik is being presented as a city that pushed back against mass tourism and kept changing course over nine years. The Telegraph featured the city in a report titled "Dubrovnik Went to War Against Mass Tourism. We Checked Whether It Worked."
The publication said Dubrovnik is "moving in the right direction" after examining the city's reforms over several days on the ground. Its report centered on how the city has tried to protect daily life inside and around the historic core while still drawing visitors.
Franković and Dickinson
Greg Dickinson, the award-winning travel journalist who wrote the feature, spent several days in Dubrovnik speaking with Mayor Mato Franković, tourism professionals and local residents. Franković told The Telegraph that Dubrovnik has shown how a world-famous destination can protect both its cultural heritage and the quality of life of its residents.
The city launched its Respect the City initiative in 2017. The program brought in limits on cruise ship arrivals, tighter traffic controls around the historic core, regulation of public spaces and visitor management tools linked to the Dubrovnik Pass.
UNESCO and the Old City
Less than a decade ago, Dubrovnik was regularly held up as one of Europe's most striking examples of overtourism. The Telegraph said UNESCO had raised concerns about the preservation of Dubrovnik's World Heritage status when visitor numbers overwhelmed the city.
That concern gave the reforms a practical test: whether a destination known for crowded streets and heavy cruise traffic could change how it works without losing the qualities that made it a draw in the first place. Many local people acknowledged positive changes in recent years, and Dickinson concluded that Dubrovnik has become a rare example of a city willing to confront overtourism head-on and implement meaningful solutions.
What Dubrovnik changed next
The immediate result is not a final finish line but a judgment on direction. The Telegraph said Dubrovnik is actively working to create a more sustainable tourism model, and its assessment carries weight for readers tracking how major destinations handle visitor pressure without abandoning their historic centers.
For residents and visitors, the practical point is simple: the city's main controls are already in place, and the reform effort has now been publicly judged to be working in the intended direction rather than failing at the outset.
