Warning as European hotspot popular with Irish holidaymakers clamps down on tourism

Mayor of Dubrovnik Mato Frankovic has introduced new restrictions on tourism which could come as a blow to some Irish tourists. 

This comes as there has been a surge in tourists to the city and its famous walls following their appearance in HBO's hit show Game of Thrones.  

The show was filmed on location in Dubrovnik acting as the backdrop for the series fabled city of Kings Landing. 

The city nicknamed 'The Pearl of the Adriatic' was already famous for its historic, well-preserved city walls, has enticed a further surge in visitors following the release of the hit show. 

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To try and cut back on the levels of over tourism in the city, Mayor Frankovic has revealed several measures that they will be taking over the next year. 

Speaking to The Independent daily travel podcast, Frankovic detailed some of the steps as: 

• The city walls will only be assessable with a scheduled booking from 2026 with a cap being set on how many people can visit the city walls at a time. 

• Cruise ships entering will be capped at two per day with a minimum visit time of eight hours. 

• The city is currently carrying out an audit of rental accommodation and other businesses, with the city buying apartments to rent to families at lower rates and a new school is being built in a palace. 

This comes after Dubrovnik was ranked the most overcrowded city in the world by Responsible Travel, with 27 tourists to a single resident at peak tourism times. 

On these new measures Mayor Frankovic has said: "From next year, you will be obliged to reserve your time and date in order to visit the city walls. There will be a designated number of people that could be at a certain time on the city walls. 

He explained how this will help to reduce the number of tourists that are "not very satisfied" with their visit due to the over tourism. 

This new measure of the scheduling the city walls in contingent on the 'Dubrovnik Pass' which will cost tourists €40 for the day. 

The pass will allow its holder access to museums, art galleries, monasteries and the famed city walls. 

Mayor Frankovic has also outlined plans to reduce the number of holiday rentals, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops to a sustainable level, instead focusing on increasing the number of domestic residencies in the city. 

He said that: ""We want to actually to have more inhabitants inside the Old City." 

Despite taking the measures to reduce the levels of over tourism, Mayor Frankovic has expressed that the city still welcomes visitors to the city and that he is "fully aware that 80 per cent of Dubrovnik citizens are living out of tourism." 

He explained: "Tourists do not want any more to be in overcrowded cities. Step by step, the overcrowded cities will be pushed on the margins of the tourism. The cities that are prepared for sustainable tourism will be leaders. Our main goal is for Dubrovnik to be alive."