ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out to analyze the contested terrain of culture and tourism in a local circumstance and to examine their interrelations to local sustainability. It explores the case of Dubrovnik as a classic example of a historic city fallen into the trap of unsustainable development based on the uncontrolled expansion of tourism. Dubrovnik as a globally renowned tourist mecca is evolving into a big theme park as its residents flee the city, forced out by high real estate prices and inaccessibility to the regular dynamics and services of urban life. The dominant local discourses accompanying these transformations tend to form a dichotomy: a ‘pro-tourism’ side, that is, pro-development that yields economic progress, and an ‘anti-tourism’ side that objects to the unsustainable instrumentalization and commercialization of local cultural and natural resources. The main aim of this chapter is to provide a critical analysis of cultural and tourism development provisions in Dubrovnik, and the extent to which there is a chasm in understanding and addressing issues involving the two interlinked domains. Methodologically, this chapter builds on policy analysis and data gathered in the process of developing these local policy documents in culture and tourism. It is the first collaborative work between the author-researchers, who separately work on topics of culture and tourism in Dubrovnik.
