The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, met with the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, and the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Mayor, Nikola Dobroslavić, this week. The meeting took place as Plenković was opening the Dubrovnik Forum 2017 in the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace. During the meeting the problems and challenges facing the region were discussed.

“The mayor and county mayor informed me of the key economic, development, traffic and tourism topics in the region. The Government of the Republic of Croatia has a special affinity for this area due to the poor traffic connections. For years, the need for construction of the Peljesac Bridge has been invoked, and now we have come to the stage that this project will be realized in the next few years. The bridge is key to form good connections with the south of Croatia with the rest of the country,” commented Plenković. Adding that the tourism figures for this season in the Dubrovnik region were very encouraging.

“We understand the problems that come with a large number of tourists coming from cruise ships, especially as this is a UNESCO world heritage site and requires a more streamlined flow of guests,” emphasized the Prime Minister.

When asked about the problem of a lack of workforce in Dubrovnik in the tourism sector, the city is still missing around 2,000 workers, the Prime Minister concluded that even though there has been a record drop in the number of unemployed people in the country Croatia still lacks a workforce for the tourism industry.

“This year, we have increased the quota for the import of foreign workers in deficit professions,” commented Plenković. When asked whether the golf project on the Srđ Mountain should be reduced from 310 to 100 hectares, Plenkovic replied that this was a matter for local authorities, but that it was in the interest of the country to avoid legal disputes and to provide investors with a stable and secure investment climate in Croatia.