Tourists are not spending enough money in Dubrovnik.

[Lair Bear]

According to one source in Dubrovnik, the city believes that tourists should buy more souvenirs and food, go to more museums and generally spend more than the average $25 per person per day. There was also criticism that some cruise passengers actually went back to the ship for lunch. This summer there were 170,000 visitors per month coming to Dubrovnik. That means they spent only 4.25 million dollars.

 

Most of the money comes from the fee charged to climb on top of the wall that surrounds Old Town. In addition, there are charges for going inside churches and, of course, museums and monasteries. Most likely the city is now considering other ways to increase the income since tourism is on the upswing. One day in August saw more than 13,000 guests trying to enter the old town and it required the police to direct the flow of foot traffic. The cost of this extra police support probably had to come out of the $325,000 collected that day.

 

So, when visiting Dubrovnik, be sure to spend more money, go to more museums to learn about the history, eat the local food, or be faced with additional charges in the future when coming to this wonderful city.

[biaria]

Dubrovnik must learn that not everybody has much money to spend just like that.

[sunbeams]

It is interesting to consider what it feels like to live in a tourist zone. I have heard similar comments from residents of Martha's Vineyard, for example, who love the income they earn from the tourists but say there is a trade-off of numbers and the value of the tourists' experiences.

 

I visited Dubrovnik for 9 days and barely scratched the surface. My visits to other cultures tend to be an more in depth visit in a few places instead of a day here and a day there. I prefer to get a sense of not only what made a place the way it is but who the modern citizens are and how they live.

 

It takes many people who live in a place that attracts tourist to make and keep that place clean and attractive to visitors. Many people to clean up the trash and the bathrooms. Many people to repair the wear and tear that occurs in ancient places.

 

Money collected in entrance fees go to all that overhead as well as government offices which use tourist dollars as a way to fund other programs for people throughout the country, not just in that town. I have heard that proportionately, Dubrovnik actually gains very little of the entrance fees that are collected.

 

That is why this concept of eating in local restaurants that locals go to, not just tourists and buying local artisan crafts, instead of mass produced items often not even made in the country visited is important.

 

This is a constant no matter where you visit.

[Railer]

I recently watched a show on T.V. about cruise ships. They mentioned the port fees that were collected. They were charged according to how many were on the ship, not how many went ashore. The ports make a nice profit on each ship that visits.

 

Russ

[NancyIL]

I intend to contribute to the local economies in Dubrovnik and Split next May. :)

 

By the way - thank you, Lair Bear, for your excellent walking tour! (http://www.*****.com/dubrovnik.html)

[texancruzer]

Well, here is my two cents worth.......

 

We visited Dubrovnik on our first Med cruise. While we enjoyed the wall and walking the old town we probably didnt spend much more than $25.00 per person either.....

 

We did eat lunch at one restaurant near the large church. The food was truly only SO-SO. Would I eat there again ? Nope.

 

We also had a cup of coffee at one place (big blue and white striped awnings across from large church) and it was good.

 

I am a shopper, love to shop while traveling ! But I really didnt see too many "souvenier" items that I wanted to spend my money on. I did buy an oil painting from an artist near the large cistern/fountain near the draw bridge entrance.

 

That was it. That is all we spent.

 

Perhaps if they wish us to spend more money on "stuff" they could improve the "stuff" and as far as eating - that could be improved on also. We really did like visiting there and those are my thoughts on their problem.

[baggal]

I had every intention of spending most of the day in Dubrovnik when we visited in July but it was so brutally hot that as soon as we finished our morning walking tour around noon we headed right back to the ship.

 

And as for buying more souvenirs, the prices for the ties in the "Cravat" shops were ridiculously high. The equivalent of $80 for a tie for most people is exorbitant.

 

The Dubrovnik tourism officials need to do some more market research. Not every visitor to their city is prepared to spend the kind of money that they were expecting.

[Crusin6]

the reason we did not spend too much money when we were there in 2008 is very simple.....all my research told me that they would take dollars or Euro at the sites....and that may have been true...but on the day we were there there only wanted Kuna....so we spent 45 minutes finding an ATM in the Old Town..and since we were only going to be there a few hours...only exchanged about $100 to Kuna....we walked the wall and had ice cream..that was it for our family of 6.

 

Now if they had taken dollars or Euro....we would have spent around $300

 

 

yes...stores tooks credit cards and some places said ok to dollars and euro...but where it mattered to us...museums and the ramparts...said Kuna....go figure..the most popular sites make it difficult

[kuldalai]

One sure way to get offside with visiting cruisers is to blame them for not spending enough !!!!

 

Cruisers have paid for three meals a day on board, so why should they not dine on board if they choose to ?

 

The local Tourist Board should do some market research of existing cruisers and tailor their product to better suit what cruisers want and are prepared to pay . Only in that way will they increase the tourist spend per pax .

 

It is called "marketing" .

[Karysa]

I think that cruisers will spend more on excursions on their second and third trips to Dubrovnik. The old city and wall are must sees for most tourists on their first trip to Dubrovnik and you can do this relatively inexpensively. Tour companies should start thinking on that line now so that they are ready when cruisers have said "been there, done that" and are ready for something besides a short drive up to where the cable car goes to and a visit to the old town.

[NancyIL]

One sure way to get offside with visiting cruisers is to blame them for not spending enough !!!!

 

Cruisers have paid for three meals a day on board, so why should they not dine on board if they choose to ?

 

The local Tourist Board should do some market research of existing cruisers and tailor their product to better suit what cruisers want and are prepared to pay . Only in that way will they increase the tourist spend per pax .

 

It is called "marketing" .

 

If I happen to finish my touring in time to eat a meal on the ship, I will do so, However, I am not going to interrupt my touring to return to the ship - just to eat prepaid buffet food. Heaven forbid one should miss a meal!

[gosport11]

Dont forget about the take ashore buffet!

we look at the short stops as a look see,to see if will return for a longer vist as 1 day in any place is not enough no mattter how bad,we have returned for a longer vist to a few ports we have visted :):)

[eh2zed]

I am not sure of the context the OP had the message that cruisers were not spending enough. If they were complaining about the visitors thats like shooting yourself in the foot. Visitors will spend according to convenience and value and interest. Maybe one or more of these is missing and they should work on them rather than complaining. On the other hand if they were doing this market research to put in pl;ace a strategy to separate more money from the visitots, they are headed in the right direction.

[iancal]

This does not surprise me. A number of the islands in the Caribbean are having the same issue. They were persuaded by the cruise lines to build enhanced port facilites and to sign long term agreements that rebate a high percentage of the tax charged to cruisers back to the cruise ship companies on the promise of large per diem tourist revenues. The revenue happened but it was far less than anticipated.

[bobalink]

I was just telling my friend about Lair Bair's recently posted walking tour of Dubrovnik and now I can't find it.

Where did it go?

[NancyIL]

I was just telling my friend about Lair Bair's recently posted walking tour of Dubrovnik and now I can't find it.

Where did it go?

 

I see that a moderator edited the link I posted to his walking tour! :(

[FinelyRetired]

There were few shops open in Dubvronik on my port day in 2009 as it was Sunday.

 

However, I did purchase a lovely watercolor which was nicely matted & framed at an art gallery called Nika Art. Local artist & approx. $70usd. Either there or at a shop elsewhere I also purchased a small handmade box made from the stone used in the famous stone houses in Croatia, Istria, etc. I always look for locally made arts/crafts works of good quality in a port and Dubvronik did not disappoint.

[texancruzer]

There were few shops open in Dubvronik on my port day in 2009 as it was Sunday.

 

However, I did purchase a lovely watercolor which was nicely matted & framed at an art gallery called Nika Art. Local artist & approx. $70usd. Either there or at a shop elsewhere I also purchased a small handmade box made from the stone used in the famous stone houses in Croatia, Istria, etc. I always look for locally made arts/crafts works of good quality in a port and Dubvronik did not disappoint.

 

I too like to purchase art and crafts made locally. I have boxes from all over.......

 

BTW: I love your screen name !

[ariawoman]

Interesting story because last year the ONLY stop I purchased souvenirs for friends/family was Dubrovnick at that candle shop in the square with the cool looking candles. So, I spent more money there than i did in any other port! :-)

[Coolcruise02]

I was just telling my friend about Lair Bair's recently posted walking tour of Dubrovnik and now I can't find it.

Where did it go?

 

Google:lair bear tallinn walking tour

[Coolcruise02]

I was just telling my friend about Lair Bair's recently posted walking tour of Dubrovnik and now I can't find it.

Where did it go?

 

or google Jay Brentje Tallinn walking tour

[tartanexile81]

One of the problems we find is that there are always too many cruise ships in at the same time so the city is just too busy. We have felt quite frightened by the crush, especially round the Pile gate and have always been glad to get back to the ship after sightseeing. Maybe if the port authorities limited the number of passengers each day, cruisers would spend more time and money.

 

Agree concern about whether the kuna or euro are accepted / poor exchange rate in some shops can also be an issue and we've also found each time we go, prices seem to be going up faster than other ports of call in the area so we don't get good value for money.

[Towncar T]

 

So, when visiting Dubrovnik, be sure to spend more money, go to more museums to learn about the history, eat the local food, or be faced with additional charges in the future when coming to this wonderful city.

 

Or just go somewhere else!;)

[hawkeyetlse]

So, when visiting Dubrovnik, be sure to spend more money, go to more museums to learn about the history, eat the local food, or be faced with additional charges in the future when coming to this wonderful city.

What sort of additional charges do they have in mind? How much are the port charges currently, per person?

 

Maybe they could open the city gates only briefly in the morning to let cruise ship passengers in, and then close them until the late afternoon. That way everyone will be forced to eat lunch inside. And they can make the lunch $100 per person.