05 November 2018 - On Wednesday, November 7, at 7 pm, National Museum of Montenegro will open an exhibition by Milijana Istijanović titled "To Live the Best Life" in the DADO Atelier.

This exhibition examines the social and spatial dimensions that deconstruct and examine the relationships between identity, spatiality and the ideas that represent them. Spatial work of a site-specific character makes monumental figural performances on the walls within the exhibition space. The oversized figures prevail in the inner space, creating a visual and textual composition by creating possible/fictitious circumstances and visual representations through their own concepts.

Milijana Istijanović was born in 1982 in Sombor, Serbia. She gained her Master’s degree at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, Montenegro at the Sculpture Department in the class of Professor Pavle Pejović. Istijanović organized seven solo exhibitions. Her work has been shown at international festivals and projects. She is the winner of the annual prize for sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, as well as the first prize at the Herceg Novi Winter Salon.

The audience will have the opportunity to visit the exhibition from November 7 to December 29, and the professional guidance through the exhibition will be organized on November 8 at 11 am.

Read more about National Museum of Montenegro here.

05 November 2018 - On November 1, Hotel CentreVille and The Living Room Lounge Bar in Podgorica were pronounced the winners of the prestigious Haute Grandeur Award at the Palace Hotel Versace in Dubai. Haute Grandeur is a respected, globally trusted Awards initiative, honouring remarkable contributions by outstanding establishments; hotels, lodges, casinos, resorts and private island retreats from across the globe. The special feature of this award and nomination is the fact that the award is given based on the comments that the guests of the establishments provide after their stay.

"The Haute Grandeur Award is a guaranteed golden stamp of excellence, and powerful in its ability to amplify marketing, guest perception and revenue. Participating establishments emphasize the value and importance of continuously striving for excellence, and set the standard in the industry," said the founder and director of the Haute Grandeur Prize, Marinique de Wet.

The nominated facilities this year included Podgorica’s CentreVille Hotel, as well as the Lounge Bar The Living Room, which operates within the hotel.

"The Haute Grandeur Prize celebrates the values of leadership, perseverance, pertinacity, commitment and ambition that Centerville Hotel & Experiences as well as the Living Room Lounge show on daily basis," added de Wet.

Hotel CentreVille has won awards in 4 categories: The Best New Hotel (less than 3 years of business), The Best City Hotel, The Best Design Hotel and The Best Lifestyle Hotel. The Lounge Bar “The Living Room” has also won awards in 4 categories: The Best Cocktail Bar in Montenegro, The Best European Event Restaurant, The Restaurant With The Best Gourmet Cuisine on a Global Level, and The Restaurant That Provides The Most Significant Experience In Montenegro.

"We are very happy to know that our work and effort are recognized by an organization like Haute Grandeur. We are proud to contribute to the high positioning of Montenegro on the world tourist map. The complete team of CentreVille Hotels and Lounge Bar The Living Room raises the quality of tourist offer of Podgorica daily, by improving the standard, service and offer. These awards are just another indicator and recognition that quality offer finds its way to the consumer," said Jelena Ognjenović, general manager of CentreVille Hotel.

One of the greatest successes of the CentreVille hotel is the fact that the hotel was declared the first choice of guests who visited Podgorica on the famous websites Trip Advisor and Booking.com.

"All prizes and nominations are pleasant and flattering. However, at the same time, they represent a great responsibility in order for international recognition to be justified, preserved and improved. We are very pleased with the Haute Grandeur recognition, given the fact that thanks to it we get a new type of brand exposure worldwide. It's not just the brand of our hotel, but also the brand of Montenegro. In order to strive for a general improvement in the development of tourism in the country, it is necessary to promote the individual facilities as much as possible, as well as the destination as a whole," concluded Milo Radonjić, PR and marketing manager of CentreVille.

November 5, 2018 - This year's first mimosas on the Herceg Novi Riviera flourished on Topla.

The yellow sun, known as the mimosa flower, is the trademark of the largest town in Boka and it has been honored for almost half a century every year in February, a tourist propaganda event called the Mimosa Feast. Mimosas bloom from November to March.

The Mimosa is an exotic tree belonging to the acacia branch, which seafarers brought from their distant journeys to Herceg Novi. It is believed that the sailor Mićo Lepetić from Topla was the first to bring it to Herceg Novi from Australia, while in Europe it was mentioned for the first time in France, where it was planted around a castle in Cannes in 1860, from where it spread to other Mediterranean countries. There are about 800 species of this yellow flower, whose native land is in India, Africa, America, Australia and other dry, subtropical and tropical parts of the world.

At the end of the 1980s, there were about 5,000 mimosas in the area of the municipality, from which 30 flower wagons could be picked up. It is estimated that now only 10 percent of the trees are left. In the sixties and seventies of the last century, when the mimosa was massively planted, it was a lucrative job. Of the dozens of yellow flower producers, there are only a few left today. The mimosa tree has a short lifespan of up to 40 years. That is why the local government has launched an action of mimosa planting which is the symbol of the town so that it would not disappear completely and thus question the survival of the Mimosa Feast. In the area of the Herceg Novi municipality, 100 mimosa trees are being planted, of which 60 are allocated to the citizens and their private areas, and 40 will be planted on the municipal parcels. Thirty trees were planted before the commencement of the tourist season.

Text by Slavica Kosic, on November 4th, 2018, read more at Vijesti

November 5, 2018 - The oil company Jugopetrol, owned by the Greek Helenik Petroleum, for the first nine months of this year, has a profit of EUR 6.76 million, which is about four percent higher than the comparable period last year. Business revenues were increased, observing two comparable periods from 104.6 million to 126.8 million euros, and operating expenses from 97.7 million to 119.6 million euros. 

HTP Ulcinj Riviera, whose main asset since the end of last year is held by the leaseholder of Karisma consortium, earned a profit of only 84.294 euros in the first nine months, which is 80 percent higher than the comparable period last year when the profit was 427.5 thousand euros. Business Revenues compared to the comparative period last year declined significantly from 3.09 million to 1.39 million euros, while operating expenses decreased from 2.57 million to 1.24 million euros. The state-owned company, 13^th July Plantaze achieved a profit of approximately 336 thousand euros, thanks to the growth of other non-core revenues, which was about five percent higher than the comparative period last year. Profit was, therefore, realized and shown, though operating income in comparison to the first nine months of 2017, which decreased from 22.32 million to 22.04 million and operating expenses slightly increased from 20.95 million to 21.08 million euros. 

The Lottery of Montenegro operates with a loss of 253,329 euros

The Lottery of Montenegro, officially controlled by businessman Sava Grbović, lost EUR 253.3 thousand according to the report, and this loss is almost halved compared to the same period last year when it lost some EUR 504 thousand.

Operating revenues for nine months amounted to approximately EUR 1.04 million, approximately the same as in the comparable period of 2017, while operating expenses decreased from 1.47 million to EUR 1.26 million. The accumulated loss of the company is two million euros.

Text by Milorad Milosevic, on November 3rd, 2018, read more at Vijesti

November 5, 2018 - Savin Kuk ski resort and its surroundings will not be recognized in the forthcoming winter tourist season, and next summer, surely, the investment story including millions of euros will be completely rounded up. At Zabljak they will no longer look at the sky, but at the artificial snow on the ski paths that will be provided.

A new road was built, so this winter there will be fewer traffic jams at the foot of Savin Kuk. The parking was also asphalted, and most of the works on bringing water from Modro Lake has been completed.

According to the Manager of the ski resort, Milutin Tomic, it is a project that is being realized in cooperation with the Center for International Cooperation and Development from Slovenia.

"This job implied the construction of artificial reservoirs and the construction of a water pipeline from Modro Lake to the foot of Savin Kuk. The accumulation is about 55,000 cubic meters, and the plumbing is more than 6.5 kilometers long. This water will be used for artificial snow, and this month there should be a tender for the first phase for production of the snow at the Savin Kuk ski resort, in the length of 1.5 kilometers, but with the possibility that the system will be extended next year on a path that is yet to be built. We plan to set a larger cross-section of pipes to the middle-station, which means that whenever a six-seater is mounted, the artificial snow can instantly cover all slopes," says Milutin Tomić, adding that now their ski resort offers a total of about five kilometers of trails.

The main contractor for the construction of the six-seater is already known, while at the same time there will be another four kilometers of trails to follow, and with a newly built, 1.5 km long track, skiers will have many more paths available next year, which will be categorized differently.

It is planned that the accumulation will be completed by the end of 2019 but judging by the works done so far, out of which 80% is finished, it will be ready earlier.

"Five-kilometer long water pipes have been set up, the canals are almost completely hollowed out, the manholes built... which means there are still 1.5 kilometers left to end the works. The weather has not been in our favor, there was always rain. The contractors for building a six-seater are already selected, the main design is in the process and the works will start in spring. That means next year on Savin Kuk there will be artificial snow and a six-seater," added Tomic. They plan that water in the summertime when it is unnecessary, will be of benefit to the farmers, but also to dwellers who are not in the livestock business, living in settlements Razvršje, Motički Gaj," he added.

The new access road, which is 1.1-kilometer-long, is pitched and asphalted, as well as parking for a hundred vehicles, but next year it will be significantly expanded. Savin Kuk, commonly, offers two two-seaters, two ski lifts, and a baby lift. All the equipment was thoroughly inspected, and was attested by the Innovation Center of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from Belgrade on the complete plant and electrical equipment.

Text by Pobjeda, on November 5th, 2018, read more at CdM

04 November 2018 - Montenegrin higher education institutions and faculties must step away from personalized management and strive for institutionalized decision-making. They also need to balance between central and decentralized management. These are the conclusions given in the evaluation report on nine Montenegrin higher education institutions, developed by a team of independent international experts, who were engaged by the European University Association (EUA) within the Programme for the Institutional Evaluation.

“The new analysis was conducted in order to see whether the recommendations given in the last evaluation were successfully implemented. Compared to 2014, there are visible and positive changes in the legislative and financial context. The current situations look promising but unstable as well. Having in mind the fact that the reform is ongoing, Montenegro might be able to achieve significant progress in the area of higher education through the adoption of innovative and proven approaches already used by the rest of the European Higher Education Area. However, the reform process is incomplete and sometimes not radical enough,” suggests the Report signed by Thomas Ekman Jorgensen of the European University Association.

The existing decentralized and often personalized managing structures, the Report says, represent a serious limitation to the institution’s capability for making and implementing strategic decisions in all activities, which was also mentioned 4 years ago.

“Smaller institutions and faculties partially or fully rely on the part-time staff who work in other Montenegrin higher education institutions or abroad,” the Report says.

It is also noted that classes in English still represent a problem for the incoming mobility even though there is a possibility of having accredited English programmes. Also, it might be good if Montenegro would totally accede to the Erasmus program, so students could have their civic and social activities recognized as “practical education”, the Report recommends.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

04 November 2018 - As a result of the long-term cooperation between the "Pasar" Gallery, the Herceg Novi Comics Festival and the comics shop "Mr No" from Podgorica, the first comics shop in the Bay of Kotor opened in Herceg Novi.

The opening of the comics shop located in the Art Craft Gallery "Pasara", will try to revive the habit of reading comics, as noted from representatives Herceg Novi's Comics Festival.

"This is kind of a logical step in the development of our festival. The recently completed twelfth Herceg Novi Comics Festival has shown that the event has reached the level of European manifestations devoted to ninth art, as well that the best promoter of Montenegro in the world of comics, and also the best promoter of comics culture in our country is this festival in particular. We simply aim to return this form of art to people, return to the place it belongs to, and return comics to the citizens, as well as create a habit of reading comics," said representatives of the Herceg Novi Comics Festival.

Apart from the favorite comics of renowned publishing houses, the comics shop offers aworks by top authors who have toured at the previous festivals, as well as various souvenirs.

"Herceg Novi's comics shop of the gallery "Pasara" will feature all the kiosks from "Veseli Četvrtak" and "Ludens", to the exclusive collection of Belgrade's "Darkwood" and Zagreb's "Fiber", as well as all other renowned publishing houses from region, with a large selection of Japanese manga comics that are released in our region. In addition, the comics shop will also feature works created by top authors visiting our festivals, and there will be all Herceg Novi Comics Festival souvenirs and memorabilia such as t-shirts, posters and calendar for 2019 with the works of our 12 special guests this year," concluded representatives of the Herceg Novi Comics Festival.

They also believe that the comics shop will be a place for the gathering of lovers not only in the ninth art but of creativity in general, given the fact that the gallery "Pasara" was founded by Herceg Novi's artists Boris Šuberić and Vanja Berberović Šuberić.

04 November 2018 - One of the most popular British newspapers - The Guardian, recently posted an article about charming European cities that are perfect for a late summer or early autumn getaway and can be placed on the list of 10 best alternative city breaks in Europe. The article provides insight into the landmarks which highlight the history, culture and the lifestyle within the listed cities. Also, the list covers the best places to eat, drink and soak in the whole atmosphere during the perfect getaway.

The Guardian added the Capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, to the list of European cities with rich historic architecture, beautiful scenery and culture without the crowds. “You may remember this city as Titograd, or perhaps Ribnica, Doclea or Zeta. Podgorica is one of Europe’s newest capitals but its history, under various monikers, goes back to the second century BC. Nowadays it is a hotch-potch of architectural styles, including some atmospheric fragments of Ottoman days and the Austro-Hungarian empire,” says the Guardian's article.

While explaining the experiences a person can gain while travelling through Podgorica, the writer of the article stated: “It may look small and unprepossessing at first sight but, with a bit of determination, you’ll discover a vibrant cafe scene, good local food and drink, plus some lovely walks around town. Try boza, a low-alcohol wheat beer whose origins date to the Ottoman era, at the Korzo bar in the city centre. Feto is the place for some excellent cheese and spinach burek, while Pod Volat attracts a local crowd for its ćevapi, a kind of skinless minced meat sausage.” The article also gives insight into great possibilities of excursions through Montenegro, since the weather is still pleasantly sunny in October and the beaches and the mountains are only a couple of hours away.

The article also gives the readers useful information about how to reach the country and accommodation conditions: the best way to reach the country is by airplane – “Ryanair flies from Stansted from £64 return. Montenegro Hostel is basic but affordable, with beds from €9 and doubles from €25. It also organises tours.”

04 November 2018 - The National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, local tourism organizations and the country’s tourism industry, will present the Montenegrin tourist offer at the 39th World Travel Market, which is held in London from 5-7 November.

The delegation of Montenegro is led by the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, State Secretary for Tourism, Damir Davidović and Director of the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, Željka Radak Kukavičić.

World Travel Market is the world's most significant tourism markets, which gathers more than 51,000 travel professionals from 38 sectors of the world's tourism industry, including government representatives, tourism organizations, airlines, hotels and hotel groups, tour operators and travel agencies, PR and media houses and others.

One of the features of this market is the Ministerial Summit, organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which will take place on Tuesday, November 6, on the topic "Investment in innovation and smart management for tourism". Minister Pavle Radulović will participate at this summit, which represents an opportunity for leaders in the field of tourism from the public and private sectors, to share knowledge and explore opportunities for investment in tourism technology.

With 5,000 exhibitors from 182 countries around the world, World Travel Market is a key meeting point for global tourism industry participants and a unique platform for establishing new and strengthening existing business links, establishing cooperation with key decision makers in the field of travel and getting acquainted with current trends and news in the tourism industry.

By participating in this fair, the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro aims to present the destination to potential partners, contribute to the strengthening of the image of Montenegro as a tourist destination and better positioning, both in the UK market and in the global travel industry in general.

Read more about World Travel Market in London here.

The transformation of Tivat from a dormant seaside town, based on seafaring, shipbuilding and military, in the "elite nautical-touristic destination of the high class" for the last ten years, resulted in dramatic economic and demographic changes, but it did not give the expected results in improving the standards of the domicile population.

This, among other things, can be concluded from the analytical part of the Tivat Strategic Development Plan for 2019-2022, which will soon be found in front of the councilors in the parliament. According to the latest 2011 Census, Tivat had 14,031 inhabitants, with an average age of 38 years. In the last decade, the town recorded a continuous increase in the number of inhabitants who were 12,812 in 2000, five years later 13,404, and reaching 14,744 people last year. The natural increase in Tivat is 6.7 percent, which is drastically higher than the Montenegrin average of 1.9 percent.

"The data show a steady increase, as well as a higher percentage of population growth than at the state level. The population growth is due to the positive natural increase and positive migration trends of the population within Montenegro," the Strategic Plan says, with the note that Tivat has 4,862 households and two times as many condos - 9,675.

The smallest municipality in Boka since the closure of the military shipyard Arsenal, the eviction of military assets with which Tivat has been living with as a base for more than 120 years, according to the local and state DPS officials, has been transformed into the "Montenegrin Monte Carlo" thanks to the development of yachting and elite tourist complexes Porto Montenegro and Lustica Bay.

Construction is continuously ongoing PHOTO: Siniša Luković

However, these projects are basically primarily real estate because they are dominantly reduced to the construction of apartments, villas and business premises for sale or rent, while the construction of new classical hotel capacities is considerably smaller in the development of these complexes, especially in the case of Porto Montenegro. This luxurious complex, built on the site of the former Arsenal, "pulled the trigger" to a new development trend in Tivat, which with the construction of apartments under the mask of "development of tourist villas and condo hotels" becomes an overbuilt “elite Budva”. At the same time, the population is more and more "convicted on a cloth and a broom", that is, relatively poorly paid and hard jobs in the service industry for rich clients of elite complexes, or wealthy people who can afford expensive houses built on the unexpected coast or its green hinterland.

The development and arrangement of the town are at the same time concentrated mainly on the center and the closest contact zone of the elite Porto Montenegro, while the surrounding, and especially peripheral settlements, are literally neglected, and some of them today look like a Brazilian favela.

Center of the town PHOTO: Siniša Luković

"Arsenal's privatization in 2006 also caused significant economic and demographic changes in our municipality. This, among other things, led to a faster development of the specific town’s center, while at the same time we can freely say there is slower, or not so rapid, development of peripheral areas. Also, significant disruption to the whole coastal region is also reflected in the discharges of the population from the northern region to the primal coastal region. As a result of this, we have, inter alia, coastal areas that take urban features and become areas of concentration of population with a predominantly tourist function," said the Strategic Plan. On several occasions, the document mentions the growing migration of the population from the north and the arrival of an increasing number of people to Tivat in search of a better life. The economic branch that is experiencing the boom in Tivat, as well as on the whole coast, is the construction of apartments in the last decade. From 2003 to 2011, the number of apartments increased by as much as 2,549 (from 7,167 to 9,626). Of the newly built apartments, 1,382 are empty and uninhabited, and only 509 apartments are officially seasonally used. This shows that the criticisms of those who at the beginning of the Porto Montenegro project warned that this could be turned into raising "settlements with closed blinds" - were justified. And in the middle of summer, most of the apartments in Porto Montenegro, Lustica Bay, and similar complexes are with closed window blinds and in the dark, testifying that they are rarely used.

Porto Montenegro PHOTO: Siniša Luković

Around these complexes, there are more and more newly built residential buildings with striking inscriptions - "For sale" and contact info of the sellers - investors. In spite of this, the construction boom does not stop and, according to the current data of the Urban Planning Department in Tivat, more than 80 construction sites are now active. The authors of the Strategic Plan say that from 2012 to 2017 in Tivat, the number of available permanent jobs has increased by about 1,000, given the very pronounced seasonal fluctuations in the number of jobs available only during the summer. 

"In addition to the fact that the season lasts for three months and does not represent a long-term source of income for employees, the most frequent jobs in the field of tourism and catering, construction and trade do not provide high incomes. Also, the workforce from the neighboring countries (Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) is most often engaged in the above mentioned jobs. Economic growth and employment from 2012-2017 had a limited impact on the number of unemployed... In the mentioned period, oscillations in the number of unemployed at the end of the year were recorded. The smallest number of unemployed persons were recorded in 2015 (740 unemployed), after which in the next two years there was an increase in the number of unemployed persons," the Strategic Plan reads.

That the new concept of economic development of Tivat does not give the expected economic effects on the domicile population, shows that at the Bureau of work in 2014 there were 807 citizens of Tivat, and last year only slightly less - 784. The unemployment rate is constantly one of the highest on the coast and it is moving between 13 and 14 percent.

"In the period up to 2014, the number of employees has grown steadily, so that in the coming years there will be a reduced number of employment. These movements are caused by the mere reduction of the absorption power of the market, that is, employment opportunities."

It is noted that in some economic areas, such as tourism and trade, there is the possibility of additional employment, but that "conditions offered are not accepted by the local workers".

Apart from the fact that it does not represent a long-term source of income for employees, these jobs do not usually provide high revenues. In order to create better jobs, it is necessary to devise measures for the development of a sector that provides employment throughout the year and measures for the development of year-round tourism that would require the engagement of the workforce out of season."

Three times higher incomes per capita than the average in Montenegro 

The authors of the Strategic Plan praised the achievement, claiming that "the permanent improvement of the business environment contributed to the Municipality of Tivat attracting large investors who started the realization of investments such as Porto Montenegro, Lustica Bay, and Blue Horizons.

Luštica PHOTO: Siniša Luković

"The launch of these investments, especially the opening of Porto Montenegro in 2009 as one of the largest marinas in Europe, has contributed to increasing the attractiveness of the Municipality of Tivat and Montenegro as a whole as investment and tourist destinations. The investment boom in the Tivat Municipality is one of the most important drivers of socio-economic development. Investments in Tivat and real sector growth have contributed to improving the fiscal sustainability of the municipality in the last five years. Viewed per capita, current budget revenues increased by a third, so from 540 euros in 2009 they increased to around 730 euros in 2014, which is three times more than the average in all the municipalities in Montenegro in 2014, which are amounted to 260 euros per capita, according to the data by the Government of Montenegro.

There are no big companies, service activities are in boost

Tivta's economy, meanwhile, has lost all of its former large companies, such as Arsenal, and today it consists of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with the dominant share of the two least categories of as many as 99.25 percent of all economic entities. The number of active enterprises rose from 715 in 2012 to 1,166 in 2016, but more than three-quarters of them deal only with the tertiary, i.e. service activities (trade, accommodation and food services, real estate brokerage, agency activities).

The number of four star category hotels has been increased, the number of the lowest categories has been reduced - two stars, and four new five-star hotels have been opened with a total of 380 beds. Tourist traffic, measured by the number of guests and realized overnight stays, increased more than doubled in the period 2014-18.

Text by Sinisa Lukovic, on November 4th, 2018, read more at Vijesti