Successful Destination Assessment for the City of Kotor

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the Municipality of Kotor, and the Port of Kotor in Montenegro joined forces for the destination assessment in the historic port city. The agreement was announced during CLIA’s Port and Destination Dialogue in Hamburg, Germany, last year.

The GSTC Destination Assessment took place between September 2023 and July 2024 . It was conducted by the GSTC and co-funded by CLIA jointly with the Municipality and Port. The assessment process, which included local stakeholder consultation, helped the city identify priorities with respect to destination management as well as any potential gaps and key risks.

Kotor is a key cruise destination in the Adriatic Sea. Nestled against stunning mountains, the city is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a history that predates Homer, Kotor continues to embody the essence of its ancient past. The assessment aimed to set the foundation for a sustainability action plan for the city.

The GSTC Destination Criteria (GSTC-D) covers four pillars of destination sustainability: destination policy and planning, community involvement and benefits, management of cultural assets, and management of environmental and natural resources.

The GSTC Destination Assessor, Dr. Ioannis Pappas, conducted an assessment of current tourism activities and management approaches. The assessment included a 4-day onsite visit by the assessor, who interviewed relevant authorities and stakeholders to verify compliance with the GSTC-D through 8 stakeholder group meetings and 20 site visits, concluding on 64 key stakeholders participation, including representatives from national and local government, the private sector, NGOs, academia, and local residents. There was also a kick-off meeting with the mayor and an opening and closing workshop.

Dr Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Director for the Mediterranean Region said “As the GSTC Assessor for Kotor, I commend the strong commitment of the local authorities and stakeholders in undertaking this important assessment. The collaboration between the Municipality of Kotor, the Port of Kotor, and CLIA has been invaluable in establishing a baseline against the GSTC Criteria. This assessment provides a clear understanding of Kotor’s current position and identifies the necessary actions to enhance sustainability performance in the coming years. By respecting its unique status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Kotor is well-positioned to design strategies that preserve its cultural and natural assets while advancing sustainable tourism development.”

“I want to congratulate the city and port of Kotor for the successful completion of the destination assessment. The beautiful city of Kotor has a unique cultural heritage, and this study will set the foundation for a sustainable action plan for the city. We are pleased to partner on this study as we believe that collaboration is key to responsible destination management. Cruise tourism brings positive social and economic benefits to communities, and we want to help destinations to manage tourism responsibly so that they remain great places to live and to visit,” said Julie Green, Deputy Director General, Europe, CLIA.

“As the Mayor of Kotor, I am pleased to say that Kotor is one of the few cities in the region that has undergone an important sustainability assessment process as a tourist destination. Together with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and CLIA, we brought together various stakeholders from public life to gather their input. All participants from public life, city government bodies, state authorities, universities, the civil sector, the economy, and entrepreneurs took part in this process. The assessment results provided us with a clear insight into the impact of tourism on our city, which will help us develop effective strategies for sustainable tourism – that is, how we should move forward regarding tourism. The study also helped us take a much more objective look at our problems, as well as our advantages. This assessment represents a significant step towards improving the quality of life in Kotor and preserving our destination.” said Vladimir Jokić, Mayor of Kotor.

Ljiljana Popović Moškov, President of the Board of Directors of the LUKA KOTOR company, pointed out: “The Port of Kotor, as a socially responsible company, was very devoted partner on this important project creating the strategy for the sustainability of Kotor as a tourist destination. Our company wants to raise its services to the highest level of quality that it provides to shipping companies or cruise companies, and this project will help us greatly to do so. Kotor is a city under the protection of UNESCO and I want to express my gratitude to CLIA for recognizing the importance of our destination and including us in what is an extremely important project for us. We expect that implementation of project’s recommendations will be challenging as in its creation, but also in its realization, considering that Kotor is a city located in the most beautiful fjord in this part of Europe, has only 22,000 inhabitants, and with close to 500 cruise ship calls annually, bring over half a million passengers to our city.

But no matter the challenges, the most important thing is that with this partnership with CLIA and Municipality of Kotor we want the same thing: to make Kotor a sustainable tourist destination and comfortable for the citizens in the long term. And I am convinced that we will succeed in that.”

Download the full report of Kotor’s Destination Assessment here.

More information about GSTC Destination Assessment is available here.