The partnership between the cities of Rovinj and Umag, Croatia and Port Townsend, Washington was initiated in October 2004 as part of the second phase of U.S. Agency for International Development/Croatia's Local Government Reform Program (LGRP II). 

The historic communities of Rovinj and Umag, located on the spectacular Istrian Peninsula, are popular summer tourist destinations for European travelers as well as a small but increasing number of Americans, Japanese and others drawn to their well- preserved town centers, rich cultural heritage and the pristine Adriatic Sea. The growing tourism market is creating development pressures and strains on their infrastructure; at the same time, it offers economic development and redevelopment opportunities that the cities recognize they can capitalize on and would like to be better positioned to lead.  City leaders also seek to extend the current, circumscribed tourism season and expand the variety of cultural and educational opportunities for tourists and residents alike in order to create communities that are vibrant and economically dynamic year-round.

Port Townsend's coastal location, historic, cultural, and natural attractions, well-regarded land-use planning and coastal management systems, success in attracting tourists during the spring and autumn shoulder seasons, strong public-partnerships and ability to balance tourism and community needs made it a good choice to partner with Rovinj and Umag.  Following initial exchange visits to Croatia and the U.S., the partners have decided to focus their efforts on major redevelopment initiatives in the two Croatian communities in which they believe Port Townsend's experience and that of other Washington cities such as Tacoma can be beneficial. 

In Rovinj, the city has assembled parcels of formal industrial land along the waterfront and plans to create a mixed-use development that will offer a variety of cultural, dining and retail opportunities to residents and tourists, as well as new housing and hotels.  In addition, the experience of Port Townsend's Wooden Boat Foundation, a private non-profit that sponsors an internationally known festival each September as well as a variety of educational and cultural programs throughout the year, offers valuable lessons for Rovinj's new 'Batana' boat museum, which documents the importance of this traditional fishing vessel to Rovinj's history and seeks to keep the batana-building culture alive.

In the case of Umag, a former military barracks in the center of town that has been turned over to the city offers a unique redevelopment opportunity - and set of planning and financing challenges.  Umag officials will seek input from their Port Townsend peers and also draw on the expertise of Port Townsend's partners in the public, private and non-profit sectors in developing a re-use plan for the site.  Inspired by the innovative cultural and educational programming and public-private partnerships they saw at Fort Worden, a former military base in Port Townsend, Umag envisions a unique facility that can provide space for educational and cultural organizations and enable them to expand their programming to draw tourists and residents year-round, and that offers a safe and interesting venue where the community's youth can gather.

While the partnership is primarily focused on offering technical support Rovinj and Umag, the Croatian communities have much to share with their Port Townsend partners, who have identified traffic management and infrastructure management in historically sensitive places as two areas of particular interest.  Over the coming year and a half, the partners will work to achieve their partnership objectives through additional technical exchanges and ongoing communications. As David Timmons, City Manager of Port Townsend, put it: "We …plan to make this a true exchange in sharing with us the way they have maintained their historic culture and tourism economies…In return, we will help them in developing public-private partnerships and management capacity building over the next two years. In addition, we believe we've made some very good friends…."