June 2, 2018 - This is stated in the Draft of Innovative Spatial Planning of Special Purpose for the Coastal Area, which is in a public hearing.
As stated, this would mean that if the planned concept is consistently realized, the total gross domestic income, compared to the 2011 census results, would increase more than four times, the number of overnight stays more than three times, unemployment would be reduced to a minimum, and the income per citizen would be more than four times higher.
For comparison, the total number of recorded arrivals in 2017, according to MONSTAT data, was over two million for Montenegro as a whole, and the total number of overnight stays was almost 12 million.
The Plan's aim is to limit urban development along the coast, to preserve valuable rural areas where urban development is limited or banned, to ensure the harmonization of new traffic and technical infrastructure along the coast and to provide free access to the sea and coast. To achieve this, it is necessary, first and foremost, to reduce the pre-planned construction area and reduce it to reasonable, sustainable frameworks.
Therefore, it is envisaged that the belt between 100 and 1,000 meters from the coastline is planned exclusively for the development of tourism in areas outside the settlement, and planning and landscaping is based on the preservation of natural, cultural historic and traditional values, with the protection of coastal areas and the application of protection measures on land and in the sea. The proposed scenario, as claimed, will raise the GDP per citizen by over 20,000 euro by the year 2030, significantly restructuring the accommodation offer with 55 percent of hotels and resorts, thus solving the unemployment problem, i.e., opening the way for further demographic growth due to increased labor needs. Comparing the projected data from this scenario and the data from 2011, it is stated that with 31,262 hotel beds, this number will increase to 125,902 (totaling 230,732 instead of 151,551), the number of arrivals would be 4,256,203 instead of 1,245,340 and the number of overnights 24,191. 517 instead of 8.493.955. The number of condos and apartments would increase from 120,879 in 2011 to 165,000 in 2030, while the total number of employees would be 77,125 instead of 34,580. On the other hand, the share of planned construction areas in the whole area would decrease from 15.5 to 10 percent. Compared to previously planned construction sites, which amounted to 23,363 hectares or 15 percent of the total area of the coast, the new design concept foresees the construction area reduced to 13,639 hectares or 9.1 percent. The total area of the rural construction (existing and planned) at the level of the entire coast is 2,695.6 hectares.
"Concerning the period after 2018, the realization of economic growth is expected in almost all economic activities, primarily in tourism, other services, and agriculture. From 2018 to 2030, further strong growth is expected in tourism, already being proven with the growth rates of over eight percent in the previous periods. In addition to official statistical data, the Economic Travel Influence study conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that the direct contribution of the industry itself to GDP is 8.1 percent in 2011 and is estimated to amount to 14.8 percent by 2020," says the Plan.
It is stated that by 2030, it is necessary to reduce private accommodation from 13 to 14 percent. "This reduction should take place through cataloging, overseeing and introducing rules for private accommodation (minimum size per bed, minimum equipment, categorization), or encouraging the transfer of larger renters to the category of small family hotels and boarding houses."
The hotel and resort capacities at separate locations need to grow with a capacity of about 70 to 75 thousand beds by 2030.
The plan also addresses military sites for tourism development, which are the areas owned by the Army of Montenegro, and are committed to the conversion and touristic valorization.
"The Ministry of Defense has stated the Initiative for the following locations to be designed for tourist purposes - Herceg Novi Municipality: Lalovina PKL, Lalovina above the highway, Donja Arza, Gornja Arza, Mirište, Spiljice, Valac, Rakita, Mamula Island, Kumbor, G. Klinci, Ravnine , Ravni, Tivat Municipality: Opatovo, Lepetane, Ostrvo cvijeca; Prevlaka, Municipality of Kotor: Morinj, Bigovo, Municipality of Budva: Location near Lastva Grbaljska Monastery, Municipality Bar: Popović economy, location Dobre vode, Ckla, Ulcinj Municipality: Motel Šas, Vladimir economy, Valdanos," stated the document.
In the key document for tourism development, the Master Plan for the Development of Tourism in Montenegro up to 2020, adopted in 2001 and supplemented in 2008, aimed at 111,100 hotel beds, 21,6 million hotel nights, 39,6 million overnight stays, 2,32 billion euro in hotel revenue, 2.9 billion in tourism revenue, and 32 thousand direct employment workers in tourism. The market goal was to fill hotels with 53.3 percent, the total occupancy of 39.6 percent, the share of hotel overnights of 54.6 percent, and the target markets for hotels were the leading EU countries and for private accommodation the domestic market, the eastern market, and the market region.
That document remained, for now, only on paper, and instead of being the leading regional hotel destination, Montenegro had been transformed into a market for apartment construction.
Text by Dejan Perunicic, on June 2nd, 2018, read more at Vijesti
