Officials visiting Monterey this week from
Dubrovnik, Croatia, are looking to come away with additional strategies
to boost economic development at home – particularly in the areas of
responsible, sustainable tourism and business conferences.
Through an international
technical training partnership with the City of Monterey, the Dubrovnik
team, including the vice-mayor, is visiting the Peninsula through Sept.
17. Throughout the week, the team will be hearing from local business
executives and touring historic sites and other visitor-related venues,
including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Laguna Seca Raceway and the
Monterey Conference Center. The cities of Carmel and Pebble Beach are
also scheduled.
During the visit, Dubrovnik
representatives are exploring ways to foster the growth of year-round
tourism and economic development in the following ways:
- exchange experiences in the
construction and marketing of tourism based on golfing. Dubrovnik is
in the process of developing a golf resort.
- examine Monterey conference programs
and expand their program of business group meetings.
- map and streamline their economic
development process.
Currently, Dubrovnik’s economy is totally
dependent on visitors who travel to the community May through September.
The number of visitors (up to 10,000) in a given seasonal day can
overwhelm the walled city. Officials are looking to boost off-season
tourism, spread out the numbers and relieve pressure on services and
infrastructure.
Monterey has entered into a
two-year technical advisory partnership with Dubrovnik, Croatia, under
the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the International City Management Association (ICMA). Such
partnerships assist cities and countries in developing a strong economic
base and a political environment of democracy.
As part of the technical
exchange, Monterey is looking to gain insight into historic preservation
and restoration approaches. On the world-heritage list of historic
places, Dubrovnik was heavily damaged in the 1990's as a result of civil
warfare and continuous bombings. The city was under siege for a number
of weeks and has managed to recover and restore many of its resources
and treasures.
Monterey officials are scheduled
to visit Dubrovnik again in late October. USAID covers all travel and
per diem expenses associated with visits. The exchange is sponsored by
the Technical Twinning Program of the USAID in support of the Croatian
Local Government Reform Program.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – available by calling
the City Manager's Office at 831-646-3760.
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