Sustainable tourist development – from Herzegovina trails to Dubrovnik Elafiti islands

The subject of the project „Sustainable tourist development – from Herzegovina trails to Dubrovnik Elafiti islands” relies on the analysis of the tourism potential of the region along the border of Croatia and BiH, which attracts more than 220 million tourists per year.

Although variety of the tourist sites and attractions are located all over Croatia and bordering BIH, most of the tourism is shifted to better-known tourism destinations such as Dubrovnik and Mostar. Inland territories and islands face a certain lag in terms of development and usage of given resources and there is a necessity of increase local stakeholders’ capacity to manage the potential of the area they act in. Moreover, due to a number of natural sites and hiking, walking, biking trails the region has a huge potential for outdoor tourism activities.

The main goal oft he project is the development and promotion of an innovative CB tourist offer, branded as the Blue section of the existing trans border Via Dinarica Trail, through the introduction of innovative community-based services (as the Albergo Diffuso and the development of outdoor activities) and the valorization of the natural resources in Elafiti islands.

The implementation of the project should reduce a discrepancy between the prosperity in tourist visited centers such as Dubrovnik and Mostar and their surrounding territories. Moreover, it will result in the expansion of the current coastal tourist offer to inland and island territories and at improving the cooperation among tourist service providers and operators in Croatia and BIH, by encouraging new business collaboration and developing and promoting common tourism products and services thus enhancing the economic development of CB area.