18 July 2019 - Kotor took the second place on the list of the most attractive eastern Mediterranean destinations for cruise travels created by Cruise Critic, the leading cruise reviews and information site which hosts the largest cruise community in the world.

According to the reviews of the users of the services of companies that organize cruise trips, Kotor is in second place, immediately after Venice. The news was officially announced by the team of the world's leading website for the evaluation of this type of cruise trips - Cruise Critic, which is visited by more than six million people each month.

The second place on the Top-Rated Eastern Mediterranean Destinations 2019 list is Kotor's best achievement in the history of this rating, since the best result so far has been reached last year, when the city occupied the third place, reports Tourist Organisation of Kotor Municipality.

The users of the services of companies that organize cruise trips evaluated the city from different aspects, and out of a total of 722 ratings, 573 indicate that the experience of passengers during their stay in Kotor was excellent, 210 very good, 55 average, 13 poor and 14 bad.

In the comments, as a reason for the excellent results, Kotor visitors said they were delighted with the city's historic core, port services and the view from the city walls, and some called this the best family journey in life.

“The cruise into Kotor is breathtaking as you are surrounded on both sides by huge moutains, very much like the Norwegian fjords but with full sun. The town itself is fortified with cobble stone streets and quaint shops. The locals are very friendly and the atmosphere is tranquil. We will definitely return here for a short break very soon. The price of food and drink is very low compared to Dubrovnik and everywhere else,” said one of the critics. They added that the tours were “amazing” and that they were ”blown away by Kotor and Perast’s beauty and serenity”.

The first place on the list of destinations in the east of the Mediterranean is still Venice, then Kotor followed by Dubrovnik, Split and Rhodes.

Read more information on the reasons you should visit Montenegro for your next holiday at TMN's dedicated page.

As of yesterday, management of parking spaces on both sides of the entrance to the Perast has been taken on by private hotel company Conte.

Parking booths are now displaying new prices, with a day ticket for a car now costing five euros, and 24-hour-parking 15 euros. Day tickets for buses now cost 20 euros. 

Dissatisfied locals have been speaking out, saying that the prices are inappropriate and that they won’t solve the parking problem.

Besides the high parking costs, they highlighted the unresolved issues of preferential parking for locals and their guests, as nearly everyone is now in the business of apartment lettings.

One local, who preferred to remain anonymous, was disappointed with the new situation, saying that tourists renting an apartment in Perast for four days would, according to the new pricing, have to pay an utterly unreasonable 60 euros for public parking, although Public Enterprise Sea Property promised that the car park would remain public as it has been until now.

He added that it was unrealistic that a tourist visiting Perast for one hour should pay the same 5 euro fee as those who stayed for a whole day.

Locals stated that they had been intensively discussing a possible blockade of the vehicle route bypassing Perast in protest, until a suitable solution for all can be found with the new leaseholder and relevant authorities.

The Montenegro stock Board of Directors chose Milena Vucinic as the new executive director of the institution, it was confirmed by Vijesti".

Vucinic succeeded Mirko Markovic, who since the beginning of the year was the Acting Director of the Stock Exchange. By the end of last year, the previous director of the stock exchange was Gojko Maksimovic.

Vucinic was until recently director of the Atlas Mont Management Company, but her mandate expired in April.

She graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica and finished a master's and doctoral study at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade.

She has been present in the domestic capital market since 1996, and in the former broker-dealer house Monte Adria worked as a broker. She holds Diplomas of Investment Manager and Public Relations.

From June 2006 to March 2009, she had her own show at RTV Atlas "Business, Money and Profits". She is one of the lecturers at the Mediterranean University.

Text by Milorad Milosevic, on July 17th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

For the weekend, the mountain Lukavica will be the gathering place of all those who like to enjoy the beautiful nature, but also traditional dishes. On Saturday, July 20th, NGO "Morakovo" will organize the manifestation "Tasting of traditional dishes of the region Krs" at the eco-camp "Tomic" in Luka Bojovic.

The event was organized for the first time last year to make traditional dishes a part of the regional offer in restaurants, promote the natural, cultural and historical potential of the region with the intention of improving the tourist offer in the municipality Niksic, Montenegro and the cross-border region "Krs".

The region Krs itself includes four cities and 22 municipalities from Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. When it comes to Montenegro, the cities are Niksic, Herceg Novi, Kotor and Tivat. On Sunday, a few kilometers away, in Mala Lukavica, another NGO from Zupa Niksic, "Zupa in the heart", organizes "Day in Lukavica" in front of the ethno house "My Dream". KUD "Ljubo Bozanovic will open the manifestation", a parade of horses will be organized, as well as an exhibition of domestic products from the katun. The manifestation of the NGO above is organized in cooperation with the ethno house "My Dream" and eco-camp "Luke", as part of the project "Yes, I choose clean!" Supported by the program "For a stronger voice of civil society organizations" implemented by the Fund for Active Citizenship (fAKT), and financed by the US Embassy in Podgorica.

Both manifestations start at 11 am.

Text by Svetlana Mandic, on July 17th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

For tourists who choose Telekom prepaid holiday packages during their stay in Montenegro, up to 1,500 GB of internet is available from today in the fastest network in Montenegro.

Apart from more gigabytes that last longer, Tourist Package users can now activate the UNIQA Montenegro Holiday Card - a unique offer in the insurance market in Montenegro, which enables the simplest activation of health care, access to 24-hour tourist assistance and numerous discounts in hotels , restaurants, museums, and theaters.

By purchasing the Tourist 5 prepaid packages and activating the card, the user gets 1,000 GB of Internet access for the next 20 days, while the Tourist 10 card brings 1.500 GB of internet valid 35 days from the moment of activation.

Telekom Prepaid Tourist packages are available at prices of 5 and 10 euros.

The options for free gigabytes do not need to be activated separately, and in the case of their consumption is less than 20 or 35 days, users can purchase the Tourist Add-on at a price of EUR 10, which gives them 1,000 GB of valid 30 days.

The novelty in Telekom's tourist offer is the UNIQA Montenegro Holiday Card - the first digital solution that allows tourists in Montenegro easy activation of the insurance policy via mobile phone. Activation of UNIQA 1 and UNIQA 2 standard packets is carried out by sending an SMS message to number 14606, after which the personalized virtual UNIQA insurance card comes to the user on the mobile phone.

In this way, users of Telekom's tourist offer are able to obtain healthcare in case they need medical assistance, up to a sum of 1,000 euros in the best private clinics in Montenegro, as well as a 24-hour tourist assistance that includes tourist information, bookings of air tickets, tickets, organization of rent-a-car services, organization of translation and legal services in emergency situations.

This unique insurance policy is also a ticket to the world of discounts and benefits, so users can expect discounts at hotels and restaurants, shops, pharmacies, tickets to museums, theaters, but also to other facilities such as kite-surfing schools, zip lines, rafting, aqua and adventure parks, trips around Boka Bay ... UNIQA 1 insurance policy is available by activation on SMS with Telekom tourist number at a price of EUR 2.89 for 5 days, while UNIQA 2 price is EUR 4.46 for seven days. Further details and UNIQA partner list are available at https://holidaycard.uniqa.me/

The Tourist pre-paid card can be purchased on marked kiosks or in T-Centers throughout Montenegro, and more information about new Telekom prepaid and postpaid tariffs can be obtained by calling 1500 and on the website www.telekom.me

Text by Promo, on July 17th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs Osman Nurković met with the representatives of the Association of Captains, the Union of Seafarers, the Maritime Faculty Kotor and the Seafield Training Center Azalea Bijela on Wednesday.

The meeting was held in a broader form, so the closest associates of Minister Nurkovic from the maritime area were also involved in the discussion: Director General of the Directorate for Maritime Traffic and Inland Navigation captain Vladan Radonjić, Head of the Directorate for the Application of Maritime Safety Standards Snežana Đurković, Harbour Captains of the Port of Bar and Port of Kotor, Bruno Brkanović and Predrag Ratković, as well as the lawyer of Kotor Port Authority, Savić Božović.

The occasion of the meeting was the recently published open letter sent to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, as well as media reports that followed the "alarming situation in the maritime sector". At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Nurković expressed his conviction and repeated his attitude that such important issues should be solved by discussion and joint engagement, and not through the media, emphasizing that since his appointment to the office of the Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs he had held meetings with all interested groups, whether it was a matter of seafaring or some other area for which he is competent.

Therefore he said he didn’t understand the criticism of those who have never contacted the ministry with the intention to present their views or to point to such an "alarming state", but had decided to act via media and open letters.

"At the beginning of the conversation, the initiators of the open letter, who, as they emphasized, at the same time advocated the views of seafarers, expressed the view that the open letter was sent to the Prime Minister, written out of good intentions, in order to raise the status of seafarers to the level they deserve. They also pointed out that they did not agree and that there were rough estimates in the media about the incompetence and lack of interest of the staff in the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs.

According to the participants of the meeting, the media unprofessionally and incorrectly transferred certain information. As they explained, they are aware that the existing capacities of the state administration are insufficient to effectively and timely address all issues and topics related specifically and exclusively to seafarers' needs.

They presented a list of their views on the issues that are most relevant to seafarers. They received answers to a significant number of attitudes that were highlighted as the most important, with Minister Nurkovic insisting that priorities should be set, with an understandable need to improve the status of seafarers, but also with the necessary acceptance of real legal frameworks in which all activities must take place. The main issues were legal solutions, the involvement of associations in their development, employment, but also the education of seafarers.

Minister Nurkovic welcomed the Montenegrin seafarer's representatives’ proposal on the organization of the round table, with the aim of professional discussion contributing to the quality of legal and strategic documents. His view was that issues that need to be resolved in the future and the challenges in this area are much more complex and could be solved by the discussion at the round table," stated the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs.

Representatives of education, training centers, agency for employment and seafarers' associations, signatories of the public letter to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, proposed the establishment of a special, self-sustaining directorate, which would deal exclusively with monitoring, by preparing and applying international standards, that is, maritime law regulations (IMO-STCW, ILO-MLC and MZO Regulations (WHO) at the meeting with Minister Nurkovic

As stated from the Association of Naval Captains of Montenegro based in Kotor, the Directorate for Mariners should employ current and/or former seafarers with the highest degrees.

The signatories of the open letter pointed out that they are expecting the invitation of the Prime Minister of Montenegro and expect the minister to use his influence and urge the prime minister to schedule this meeting, "the Association of Maritime Captains of Montenegro announced.

The meeting was held at the initiative of Minister Nurkovic, and the proposals will be sent to the Prime Minister.

Water Music, a musical and theater project within the Purgatorije Festival, will be held tonight at 9.30 in the village of Luštica Bay in Tivat. NGO Ars-industria and the Montenegrin Music Center are organizing immersive concerts called "Water Music" for the first time in Montenegro.

The project is based on the eponymous masterpiece by German Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. It will be performed tonight within the Purgatorije Festival, and tomorrow at the same time in Podgorica, within the Podgorica Cultural Summer 2019 on Skaline.

Compared to standard concerts of classical music, this work represents a historical reconstruction of events from 302 years ago, on July 17, 1717.  An attempt has been made to interact with the audience through immersive effects derived from acting and dancing, which requires its involvement in the overall dramaturgy.

As its name suggests, the Water Music was indeed written to be performed on the water, commissioned by King George I to accompany a grand royal jaunt up the River Thames in the summer of 1717. “Eager to please his royal master”, as said on the BBC “the 32-year-old Handel composed a lavish, three-part suite for 50 musicians (a huge group for the period), packing it with raucous horns and woodwind instruments so that the sound would carry across the water.

At 8pm on July 17, everyone crammed into boats, and set off to travel the three-and-a-bit miles from The Palace of Whitehall up to Chelsea. The king and a gaggle of aristocrats watched from the royal barge while "a City Company's Barge was employ'd for the Musick", according to a report in the Daily Courant.

The composer himself conducted. Although there was "a great number of boats, that the whole River in a manner was cover’d", no one seems to have capsized, and George was so thrilled with Handel's piece that he asked for it to be played over and over again, including on the way back downriver. The performance is said to have finished long after midnight - pretty exhausting for the musicians.”

The aim of this interactive and interdisciplinary project is that through the cooperation of the non-governmental sector and institutions at the state and local level, artistic professionalism becomes the service of a wider audience, Montenegrin citizens and tourists, who through the innovative and affordable ways of realizing one of the capitals musical achievements will get to know the high art and became its consumers.

"Water Music" will feature 22 musicians, 5 actors and DJs from the ARS-INDUSTRIA Art Ensemble. The authors of this pilot project include Dmitry Prokofjev (music management), Zoran Rakocevic (director), Vanja Vukcevic (playwriter), Tamara Vujošević (choreography), Milica Piletić, Zoran Rakočević (dramaturgy) and producer Ljubo Kaličanin.

The event's sponsors are the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, the Culture Center Tivat, the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Montenegro, the Podgorica City Theater and the partners of PG Sound and Metropolis Media.

Free bus service will be organized tonight at 8.30 p.m. from the bus stop in the centre of Tivat, by the Post Office and the return is after the event. Concerts are open to the public free of charge.

17 July 2019 - The water polo exhibition titled “ The Most Beautiful Moments From the Encounters Of Water And Ball " of the Hungarian Olympic and Sports Museum will be opened in Herceg Novi on July 23, it was agreed at the recent meeting between Hungarian Ambassador to Montenegro József Négyesi and the President of the Herceg Novi Municipality Stevan Katić and associates.

This open-air exhibition will be set up at Škver, where numerous passers-by will have the opportunity to get to know the history of water polo, the first international matches and triumphs through the photo panels, reports CdM. The focus will be placed on the competitions between the Hungarian water polo team and the teams from the former Yugoslavia. The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of Hungary in Montenegro, supported by the Municipality of Herceg Novi.

"Water polo connects Montenegro and Hungary, and the Herceg Novi water polo club Jadran, whose home is exactly at the Škver, is the backbone of the Montenegrin national team, which implies that the open-air exhibition The Most Beautiful Moments From The Encounters Of Water And Ball is coming to the right place,” it was announced after the meeting.

Ambassador Négyesi expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation with the Municipality and announced that they are also planning several other events in Herceg Novi aimed at presenting Hungarian culture and gastronomy.

He also pointed out that Herceg Novi is home to one of the largest Hungarian companies in Montenegro, the Hotel Sun Resort, which has good communication with the local administration, which is of great importance for investors.

The meeting also addressed current events related to the tourist season, which include border crossings issues and traffic jams in all towns located at the bay, since these subjects are particularly important for Hungarian tourists.

Read more sports related news at TMN's dedicated page.

16 July 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković congratulated citizens of Andrijevica, Municipal Assembly members and local leadership on the Municipality Day, saying that the continued commitment to development and determination in the implementation of development policies, especially in the Northern Montenegro region, as testified in this municipality, always deserve the Government's and Prime Minister's support.

On the occasion of the Municipality's holiday, the Prime Minister hosted President of the Municipality of Andrijevica Srđan Mašović and his associate Miodrag Ivanović.

The leadership of Andrijevica informed the Prime Minister about the projects that were successfully completed and the ongoing ones, with particular reference to the numerous activities of local self-government on the valorisation of tourism and agricultural resources. In this regard, PM Marković expressed the Government's full support for the further enrichment of the Komovi Nature Park's offer and completion of the House of Fruit Project as well as works on improving local infrastructure, as stated in the announcement by the Public Relations Service within the Government of Montenegro.

Recalling the last year's meeting where the Municipality of Andrijevica was mentioned as an example of a responsible relationship, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the fact that since then, the Municipality has registered further progress and creation of new values in tourism, agriculture and the use of energy potential through small hydropower plants.

The meeting discussed several development and infrastructure projects that should contribute to the further improvement of Andrijevica's tourist offer and its better infrastructural connectivity with other cities of Montenegro.

Read more news about business in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.