The popular Croatian tourist city of Dubrovnik plans to stop issuing new private rental permits as it seeks to lure back locals who have been priced out of its historic Old Town. The U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage site attracts millions of visitors a year, but while those visitors bring in much-needed revenue, they also clog the city’s narrow streets and push up rent.

Dubrovnik

The popular coastal city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, known for its picturesque Old Town and status as a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage site, is taking significant measures to tackle some of the challenges posed by its success as a tourist destination. The local authorities have decided to stop issuing new permits for private rentals. This decision aims to temper the tourist surge that has increasingly priced out locals from the historic center, making it difficult for them to afford living in their own city.

Dubrovnik's attractiveness to millions of visitors each year is a double-edged sword. While tourism generates substantial revenue for the city, it also leads to overcrowding in its narrow streets and an upward pressure on living costs. This has created a paradox where the city's economic lifeline simultaneously threatens its social fabric by making it less accessible to its residents. The latest regulatory move is seen as an attempt to reclaim the city for locals and mitigate the negative impacts of mass tourism.



Croatia's Dubrovnik tries to reclaim city for locals

Croatia's Dubrovnik is famed for its renaissance palaces and Baroque churches. The UNESCO World Heritage Site sits on the Adriatic's rocky coastline and attracts millions of visitors a year. But while those visitors bring in much-needed revenue, they also clog the city's narrow streets and push up rent. In the early 1990s, some 5,000 residents lived here. Now, there's just 1,200. So the city plans to lure back locals. Young people will leave us. They will go to live in other areas because it will be impossible to live in Dubrovnik, the city's mayor, Mato Franković, says. The city has already begun buying apartments that will be offered to young families under a 10-year lease and will ban the short-term lease of flats in large apartment buildings. The city council is also expected in April to pass a regulation banning new rental permits in the Old Town and its surrounding area, Franković said. He added that the move is part of the city's obligation to meet certain UNESCO rules. But not everyone agrees with the move. I don't think it is necessary to ban or limit the number of apartments for rent. Vedran Mijovic is from an estate agency that manages some 150 units in Dubrovnik. Mijovic says private accommodation is much better for the community over large hotels and resorts, which, he says, only benefit big foreign funds.

At least four people are dead, including an infant, after a series of tornadoes swept across Oklahoma. The weather system is threatening the region with more twisters, heavy rain and large hail in a band stretching from Missouri to Texas.

Sulphur

At least four dead in Oklahoma tornadoes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she would stand in upcoming European Parliament elections, a move apparently calculated to boost her far-right party, although she would be forced to resign immediately under EU rules.

Pescara

Italian far-right PM Meloni says will stand in EU elections

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Oklahoma

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Wakeley

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Canberra

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Biden tells Netanyahu U.S. doesn't support Rafah assault

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Donetsk

Ukraine Invasion

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Shanghai

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Rafah

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Thousands block Tel Aviv streets in protest

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Jerusalem

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King Charles will return to his public duties next week for the first time since his February cancer diagnosis, visiting a cancer treatment centre. There fears his Australian trip will be delayed, while he continues treatment for his own cancer battle.

Windsor

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Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands rally across Australia against domestic violence

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Baku

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London

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Paris

Pro-Palestinian protesters still occupying Sciences Po campus

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Nairobi

Climate Crisis

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New York

U.S. Presidential Election

The Australian journalist caught up in Trump trial

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Marsden Park

Mourners farewell Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir

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Washington

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Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

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Port-au-Prince

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