27 November 2018 - According to preliminary data, total tourism revenue will exceed 1 billion euros, Prime Minister Duško Marković said in the Parliament of Montenegro, adding that Montenegro has been setting tourism records one after the other.
"This is how it looks regarding figures: During the first nine months, our tourism industry saw over 2 million (2,002,229) tourists visits, an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period last year. In the same period, there were 12 million (11,981,004) overnights, which is 7% more compared to the same period of 2017. This year alone, 25 new hotel facilities have been opened, of which more than a half are 4 or 5-star hotels. The empowered sector of the hotel industry has created more than 1,000 new jobs in 2018. This will be the first year in the history of modern Montenegrin tourism in which millions of tourists will stay in the Montenegrin hotels, which is already, according to the MONSTAT data, 100,000 more than in the same period last year. The extraordinary trends in our tourism are also indicated by data on capacity utilisation of the Montenegrin airports. Namely, until 15 November, Montenegro Airlines transported nearly 600,000 passengers, which is the best result in the history of this company. On the other hand, the Airports of Montenegro served 250,000 passengers more than in the same period last year," the Prime Minister underscored.
The Prime Minister added there are more demanding tourists from EU countries, with the most significant increase in visits from Great Britain and Germany
"This means that our tourism industry develops, acquires new knowledge and competencies and becomes competitive in the region and beyond. Furthermore, this year we have witnessed that the postseason lasted considerably longer than previous years, i.e., that it lasted practically until the beginning of November, which is just another step towards achieving our goal of Montenegro becoming a year-round tourist destination," said the Prime Minister.
Speaking about tourism, PM Marković also stressed that in the past two years of the Government's mandate, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism had issued more than 60 building permits for 4 or 5-hotels.
"We are talking about investments of over EUR 400 million," the Prime Minister pointed out.
"I have to express my satisfaction with the dynamics of major projects in tourism: Porto Montenegro, Luštica Bay, Porto Novi, but also a series of smaller, equally high-quality initiatives, namely Iberostar hotels in Njivice and Perast, hotels Lazure in Meljine, as well as those in Ulcinj, such as the Karizma Hotels Group's projects on the Great Beach. However, the Government also invests in tourist capacities in the north of our country, and an investment in the large ski resort in Bjelasica continues. By the end of 2020, about EUR 70 million will be invested there. I expect that the "Kolašin 1600" sky centre will accept the first tourists in the coming days," Prime Minister Duško Marković noted. He concluded by saying that he is satisfied with the tourist season and the derived economic benefits, adding that he believes that we can do more and do better.
