An international conference called "Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads" will be held in the southern Adriatic resort on October 16-25 as part of European Freelancers Week, the press were told on Monday.

Mayor Mato Frankovic said the conference had two goals, the first being to show what Croatia had done and what had yet to be done financially for digital nomads.

The second goal, he added, is “the incredible marketing of Dubrovnik, because we are showing our potential and inviting digital nomads to come. We are the first city which has turned to that market because we see its big potential.”

Frankovic said global tourism had undergone a major change and that destinations were choosing different directions.

“It’s no longer mass tourism but target groups, completely different from what we knew until now. Such tourism respects quality of life and the local population. Digital nomads are part of such tourism. Croatia has been among the first to recognise their significance and is introducing visas which will significantly facilitate their arrival and longer stay in Croatia, thereby significantly contributing to Dubrovnik’s tourism.”

All of that requires an infrastructure, the mayor said, recalling that the city had signed a HRK 90 million agreement with the government and the HT telecom on excellent Internet coverage in the Dubrovnik area.

Dubrovnik Tourist Board director Ana Hrnic said this project would boost the city’s status as a year-round destination.

The organiser of the conference, Tanja Polegubic of the Saltwater company described the European Freelancers Week as an annual event bringing together a lot of entrepreneurs and freelancers.

(€1 = HRK 7.56)