Croatia’s ‘Game of Thrones’ town threatened by mass tourism

Marc van Bloemen has lived in the old town of Dubrovnik, a Croatian citadel widely praised as the jewel of the Adriatic, for decades, since he was a child. He says it used to be a privilege. Now it’s a nightmare.
Crowds of tourists clog the entrances to the ancient walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as huge cruise ships unload thousands more daily. People bump into each other on the famous limestone-paved Stradun, the pedestrian street lined with medieval churches and palaces, as fans of the popular TV series “Game of Thrones” search for the locations where it was filmed. Dubrovnik is a prime example of the effects of mass tourism, a global phenomenon in which the increase in people traveling means standout cites — particularly small ones — get overwhelmed by crowds. As the numbers of visitors keep rising, local authorities are looking for ways to keep the throngs from killing off the town’s charm. “It’s beyond belief, it’s like living in the middle of Disneyland,” says van Bloemen from his house overlooking the bustling Old Harbor in the shadows of the stone city walls.