Jelka Tepšić is a professor of Spanish language and literature and comparative literature, with more than thirty years of professional experience in tourism, communications, media, and marketing. She currently serves as an advisor to the Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik for tourism, sustainability, and culture.

From 2017 until June 2026, she served as Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik, responsible for key areas of public policy, including tourism development, culture, and sustainability. During her mandate, the City of Dubrovnik developed the long-term strategic initiative “Respect the City,” an integrated and innovative destination management model aimed at addressing the challenges of overtourism and promoting the sustainable development of tourism.

Within the framework of this initiative, a series of measures were introduced to improve management and ensure a more balanced distribution of visitor flows, mitigate the negative impacts of excessive visitation, and preserve the quality of life of local residents, while at the same time protecting the authenticity and cultural-historical heritage of the city. Particularly notable are the excellent results in cruise tourism management, for which Dubrovnik has been recognized as a global model of best practice in cruise management, based on cooperation and partnership with cruise companies and the CLIA association.

The “Respect the City” project has been presented at numerous international conferences and congresses and has been recognized as an example of good practice in sustainable tourism management in many studies.

Since 2014, Jelka Tepšić has also served as the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Spain in Dubrovnik, contributing to the further strengthening of cultural and institutional relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Kingdom of Spain.