11 January 2019 - The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism has been satisfied with the last year’s season and generated 1 billion EUR of revenues. According to minister Pavle Radulović, opinions on technical documentation for 16 new hotels in 5 coastal towns have already been issued.
“According to our estimates, 320 million EUR will be invested in tourism facilities this year. We have been delighted with the impressive records we achieved last year in this area of industry, especially regarding revenues and number of tourists, counting 2.1 million, which was by 100,000 more compared to 2017,” said Radulović.
For the first time in the history of Montenegrin tourism, hotels hosted a million tourists, i.e., there were 4 million overnight stays in the first ten months of 2017.
Radulović pointed out that Montenegrin strategic goal is for the country to become a high-end tourist destination throughout the whole year. He believes the process of legalization of illegally constructed facilities has started well.
So far, 51,000 citizens have applied for the legalization.
The growth of tourism revenues in Montenegro in 2018 was established at 8.3% n the first nine months, thus reaching the level of tourism income realised during the whole year of 2017. These revenues in 2018 were projected to exceed 1 billion EUR.
As of the beginning of 2019, the value of tourism projects in Montenegro in the past year was estimated at 214 million EUR.
During this occasion, Radulović was asked about tourism in Northern Montenegro, on which he answered that this part of Montenegro is still in development and that with new and renewed ski-centers, Northern Montenegro can improve significantly as a tourist destination.
“When it comes to Kolašin, I am sure that, with the development of ski centers and other amenities, it can attract a much higher number of tourists. Also, I think that Kolašin and Žabljak should not be competitive with one another, but with other regional centers. It is important to point out that infrastructure in the mountains is used during summer too. We are continuously investing in winter centers because that way we will provide promotion of different segments of tourism offer, extend the season in the northern part of our state and improve accommodation capacities. All this will be followed by connection with other relevant economic areas, and that will create new jobs,” concluded Radulović.
