Keeping Dubrovnik alive in winter – new regulations for restaurants

Dubrovnik

As October ends and Dubrovnik’s summer flight schedule concludes, the city’s tourist season also appears to wind down.

Most restaurants and cafes in the historic centre close their doors. Yet, in October, Dubrovnik’s main street, Stradun, is still lively with nearly 8,000 visitors in the city.

“I enjoyed Dubrovnik most as a child, when I visited with my parents in the late 90s, before all the Game of Thrones hype,” Florian from Germany tells HRT. “Back then, it was a well-kept Adriatic secret. Now it’s too crowded, even on a rainy off-season day.”

Gary from Canada adds, “I’d enjoy it more if there were fewer people.”

The summer flight schedule officially ended on 31 October, but Dubrovnik will remain connected to seven European cities through the winter: Vienna, Brussels, London, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Warsaw, and Barcelona, explained Marina Ruso Mileusnić, spokesperson for Dubrovnik Airport.

Dubrovnik

With the onset of winter, nearly all of the 180 establishments in the historic centre close until the next season.

In response, Dubrovnik’s city administration is introducing new regulations requiring certain restaurants to stay open for part of the winter if they wish to use public spaces.

Mayor Mato Franković noted, “We already have 20 weekly flights bringing visitors to Dubrovnik in winter. When these tourists arrive, they shouldn’t find the city completely closed.”

This regulation will take effect on 1 January, with full implementation starting next winter. In cooperation with local business owners, a five-year plan will be developed to ensure that several establishments remain open each winter month.

Đani Banovac, from the Dubrovnik Chamber of Commerce’s hospitality guild, called on other local businesses to support this initiative, aiming to make Stradun and the entire city more vibrant during winter.

The goal is to reduce the contrast between the intense summer crowds and the winter emptiness, moving towards a year-round tourist season.

While Dubrovnik prepares for its first winter with open restaurants, Split presents a different picture. According to HRT journalist Ivana Šilović, tourism is still thriving in Split, helped by unseasonably warm weather.

This winter, Split will be connected to 40 European cities, with larger hotels remaining open, though smaller ones in nearby towns and islands are closing.

Split Riva

Smaller businesses like souvenir shops and ice-cream parlours have shut, but many cafés and restaurants stay open, as local hospitality workers insist that closing entirely would leave Split in darkness.

Jelena Tabak, president of the hospitality association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, works year-round and believes more businesses should follow suit. “If we stop living for our city, tourists won’t come either,” she argues. “If Split becomes just a backdrop, even those who only work in summer will eventually find no customers.”

To keep interest alive, Split launched a series of gastronomic events at the end of October, running through November and leading into the city’s Advent season.