07 January 2019 - The General plan for the open sea has been adopted, tuna conditions in Montenegrin waters is good, and the opening of small businesses in the hinterland that would deal with fish processing would bring enormous profits to Montenegro, said Aleksandar Joksimović, head of the Laboratory for ichthyology and marine fisheries at Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor.

"So far, the progress in this area has been achieved in the organization of fishermen and associations, with the help of creation of clusters, and the awareness of fishermen that joint, teamwork can achieve results," said Joksimović.

Fishing the small oily fish, tuna farming, the development of a fish processing factory, as well as the logistics on the coast, can bring the Montenegrin economy the brand as something from the southern Adriatic - high salinity and clean water.

"Economically important species in fishing in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea are hake, red mullet, shrimps, octopuses, but as well as the European pilchard and anchovy. For each of these species, a complete study is already carried out, which resulted in biological and economic limits which state that their fishing is limited to a certain number of tons," Joksimović reminded.

Members of the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean have decided to increase the quota that has been set up in Montenegro to up to 50 tons of oily fish, European pilchard and anchovy. The new quota applies to all other Adriatic countries as well, and it is increased for up to 2.5 tons.

During the mid-December 2018, Montenegrin prosciutto became the new product under protection in Montenegro, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“Natural environment, climate conditions in the region of production, long tradition of production and a good reputation of this product, that extends over the boundaries of this region form the basis for the protection of this product as a specific and authentic product. The impact of the geographical surroundings, climate and the skillfulness in the application of special recipe, is responsible for the prosciutto that is highly respected among the consumers, especially tourists who visit Montenegro,” said the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture.

06 January 2019 - The successful year for Montenegro’s tourism industry has had positive effects on business operations of the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro, claimed Predrag Jelušić, director of the company.

“In 2018, we generated over €7.1 million thus exceeding planned revenues, and all these extraordinary results happened thanks to the efficient implementation of a 3-year plan, but also due to the responsible approach of our tenants,” he stressed.

In 2019, he added, expects to have a categorisation of public beaches introduced, as well as more activities concentrated on waste on beaches and new responsibilities referring to the sea/ports transport management. By the Coastal Zone Law and Law on Ports, one of the responsibilities of the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro is to manage coastal zone and local ports of general importance and for public use.

“We required introduction and definition of terms city port and municipal slips. By introducing this, we are to create a regulatory framework and grounds for managing ports and other facilities belonging to maritime infrastructure,” noted Jelušić.

In 2019, one of the most important events in the Montenegrin coast would be opening of the Portonovi resort in Kumbor equipped with marina.

When asked whether the new marinas would impose new obligations for the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro, Jelušić said it is good Montenegro will get three new marinas, especially for the development of nautical tourism.

“In this context, the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro will strive to perform public function beside the commercial one. As an example, I should mention planned construction of the water fountains on Tivat airport,” Jelušić said.

He reminded of the fact Montenegro so far has had only two types of beaches – hotel and public – but in line with the guidelines from the Strategy for sustainable beach management, public beaches are now categorized as romantic ones, for same-day visitors, for active vacays, family beaches, pet-friendly and party beaches, and there will be more public nude beaches.

05 January 2019 - Within the Programme of temporary facilities for the area of the coastal zone of the municipality of Budva for 2019-2023, they have decided to carry out the grouping and organizing of temporary buildings and facilities. At locations in the vicinity of hotels with 4 and 5 stars, there will not be temporary structures which, by their appearance or function, could compromise the representativeness and comfort of such high category of accommodation.

Due to the loaded traffic of contact zones with a large number of seasonal temporary facilities in local jurisdiction, the Ministry of Tourism has limited the placement of new temporary facilities in the areas of the coastal zone.

"A large number of set up objects can be characterized as inappropriate due to the lack of functionality for the performance of catering, trade, etc., as well as because they very often interfere with normal pedestrian traffic, visions towards the sea and do not fit into the environment. One of the negative sides of these objects is precisely the poor level of their design and integration into the environment, and as such, they are very negative in urban terms," it is stated in the Programme of temporary facilities for the area of the coastal zone.

In addition, the Ministry of Tourism stated in the document that it was forbidden to place any kind of a mobilier or a caffe-bar with a grill on the part towards the upper and lower promenades, which means that all of the street shops with fast food on the promenade that ruined this part of Budva will no longer exist.

The Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone of Montenegro and Ministry of Tourism did not provide the opportunity for users of temporary facilities to submit remarks because, unlike Municipality of Budva, they did not organize a public debate on this topic.

04 January 2019 - Montenegro’s rich cultural offer includes a great number of festivals, from small gatherings to regional events which attract numerous tourists from all over Europe. Festivals in Montenegro often gather an impressive amount of international artists who offer an incredible experience and thus contribute to the development of tourism within the country. Many events explore exciting aspects of life and are closely related to a specific region in Montenegro.

The citizens of Montenegro especially enjoy music festivals, which bring together top music artists who strive to enrich the cultural scene within the country, and with the power of will and with a lot of effort, they succeed in making significant and memorable events.

1. Sea Dance Festival

Sea Dance Festival is a fantastic music festival held at Buljarica beach in Montenegro. It has been held at Jaz beach in Budva since July 2014 until 2017, as a part of the EXIT Adventure, an extension of EXIT Festival. Just after its first edition, Sea Dance festival was officially proclaimed as the “Best Medium-Sized European festival” at the European Festivals Awards, held in Groningen in January 2015. The key stages of the festival include the Main stage with its 30,000-attendee capacity, No Sleep Stage, Reggae Stage, Silent Dance, Latino Stage, Cinema, and CHILL Zone. Dance Paradise Stage was replaced with the No Sleep Stage in 2017. In 2018, Sea Dance Festival took place 30 August–1 September. It was the first time the location of the festival has been changed, moving from Jaz beach to Buljarica in Budva. The headlining acts for Sea Dance 2018 included Chic, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Paul Kalkbrenner, Nina Kraviz, Alice Merton, as well as Bajaga i Instruktori, Bassivity Showcase (Sara Jo etc.), Burak Yeter, Filatov & Karas, Hladno Pivo, Lost Frequencies, Rambo Amadeus, Van Gogh and many more. The overall attendance was 47,000 people in three days.

2. Lake Fest

Eight years of Lake Fest have shown that Nikšić has a large number of people who want such a primarily musical but also a multicultural festival to be organised within the city. This is another reason for Lake Fest to become a tradition and a segment of interesting event program which Montenegro brings to its citizens but also all the visitors from the region and other parts of Europe. The tradition of rock and roll as well as other related music styles are extensive in Nikšić and provides an additional reason for the domestic audience to know how to recognise a quality manifestation. Lake Festi is organised near Lake Krupac, which adds to the overall atmosphere within the event. The 2018 Lake Fest lasted four days, from 9th–12th August 2018. The leading artists included Rudolf, Barbara Munjas, Orthodox Celts, Perper, Zoster, Ritam Nereda, Iskaz, Atomsko Sklonište, Van Gogh, Goblini, Chiapas – Rage Against The Machine Tribute, Punkreas, Bubnjivi, Helem Nejse, Vlatko Stefanovski Trio, Dst, Marčelo And The Prodigy Tribute.

3. Bedem Fest

Bedem fest is a traditional musical event that takes place at the Nikšić fortress Bedem, after which the festival was named. The festival was created with the enthusiasm and energy of Petar Šundić, who began with the mission of gathering Nikšić’s musicians of different generations with the main idea to create a tribute to the band EKV. The phenomenon worthy of attention and respect is the fact that at Bedem fest most bands and musicians perform without fee and thus contribute to the affirmation of the festival. Thanks to the resulting synergy, the Bedem fest is authentic and special. This year's edition of the festival was marked by Masimo Savić, Beogradski Sindikat, Zorica Kondža, Kaliopi, Melau bend, Obojeni program, Sowas, Električni orgazam, and many others.

4. Sea Rock Festival

Sea Rock Festival was first organized by a small group of enthusiastic young people from Bay of Kotor region with no significant financial support. Sea Rock is a unique opportunity for the people of Montenegro and neighboring countries to enjoy live performances of some of the most important alternative rock bands from all over the world on the open-air stage surrounded by stone walls of the amazing ancient town of Kotor. Every technical detail of the festival is carefully planned and thought of, and it is a unique and enjoyable experience being on or off stage for everyone, artists, and visitors. In 2018, the SeaRock Festival was held for the eighth time, and performers at this year's edition were American Sun Kil Moon, Strand Of Oaks, American Howe Gelb, Billie Joan, Tourists, Baobab and On Tour.

5. City Groove Festival

City Groove Festival is held at the Small Sports Stadium in Podgorica. This year the fourth edition of the festival managed to attract more festival tourists due to the great music stars that performed on City Grove. The festival has defined its format as an international manifestation that the Capital records on the map of world music attractions. In 2017, City Groove Festival was declared the best event within the Capital at the manifestation "The Best in Tourism and Catering" organized by Tourist Organisation of Podgorica. The list of artists that performed in 2018 includes Dario Nunez, The Cube Guys, Josipa Lisac, Vatra and Simple Minds.

03 January 2019 - This year, Montenegro confirmed the epithet of one of the main destinations in the region for the celebration of New Year's Eve, thanks to rich multi-day programs that have been organized on city squares for more than two decades and an attractive offer of hotels and winter tourist centres.

The magnificent celebration and performances of many popular local and regional music stars of various genres, in Kotor, Herceg Novi, Tivat, Budva, Bar, and Podgorica, according to estimates, attracted over 42,000 visitors during New Year's Eve, mostly from the country and the region, but also from other European countries.

In the year which marked the Jubilee 20 years since the first organized celebration of the New Year’s Eve at the Square, Budva, which carries the epithet of regional best entertainment for the holidays celebration, recorded a record attendance of over 28,000 visitors during New Year's Eve and over 75,000 guests who visited Budva during five festive days and nights, according to the estimates of the local Tourist Organization of Budva.

Great attendance was recorded at the other coastal towns and the Capital, which organized a rich New Year's program that included entertaining, cultural and artistic contents, performances, concerts, and animation program for children, Christmas bazaars, skating rinks, daily shows of classical, traditional music and the like.

Montenegrin winter tourist centres - Žabljak and Kolašin, are traditionally particularly attractive for New Year's Eve and noted the maximum occupancy during the holidays. Hotels that organised a celebratory program had many requests for guests without reservations. The winter season was open starting mid-December, so all visitors to these cities can enjoy winter walks, skiing, snowboarding, walking on snowshoes, and many innovations such as Nordic skiing trails in these cities, adventure parks and a national restaurant at the Black Lake.

31 December 2018 - "Budva is Monte Carlo of this part of the world, here I feel at home and I have additional responsibility to make a special concert every time in Budva, so that you can expect something completely new tonight," Dino Merlin announced a day before the New Year’s Eve. It was a concert to remember, starting with lasers that cut through the cool air within the city, through the visualizations that followed every gesture and movement, the new arrangements, dancers, perfect backing vocals, all the way to Dino Merlin himself, a singer so cheerful, who made a real connection with the guests, the perfect professional who stayed on the stage for over two hours and really left his heart with the audience.

With the song “Hajde noćas mi dođi, svega mi donesi” and gorgeous fireworks, the locals from Budva, numerous visitors from all the countries of the region and other cities of Montenegro, entered the New Year 2019. The band "Jack Lupino & Leftovers" from Budva was given the opportunity to present itself to the audience last night for the first time for New Year celebration, followed by the rock band “Aerodrom”, who reminded all visitors of their good, old hits.

The celebratory program at the main city square started on Friday, December 28 at 9 pm, when local hip hop band "Most wanted" entertained the crowd. The atmosphere only got better with "Who see", the well-known Montenegrin duo, while the culmination of the evening was the performance of the “Beogradski sindikat", when numerous fans sang all the songs and lit several torches.

The following day was marked with a complete change in the genre of the performances, and an even greater number of visitors. On the occasion of the great jubilee, the 20th anniversary of the celebration of the New Year at the square, the second day of the Budva musical spectacle began with the performance of the ethno band "Zora" from Bar. The bard of folk music Halid Bešlić held a concert that will be the main conversation topic of numerous visitors for a long time, while Marija Šerifović only continued the concert program in the spirit of good energy and quality interpretation. Many guests commented that December 29 was celebrated just like New Year's Eve.

A completely new performance in Budva, and probably in whole Montenegro took place on the third night, Sunday, December 30, when local DJs Urketone and John K warmed up the audience, after which the stage was taken over by the Turkish-Dutch producer and DJ Burak Jeter. The famous DJ from Amsterdam managed to transfer great energy from the stage to the audience that filled the city square for two hours.

One of the most important DJs in the history of electronic music, British DJ and producer Daren Emerson - a former member of "Underworld", came to the stage at midnight, and the night reached its peak. The audience was thrilled, and the celebration went on deep into the night.

The evening  of January 1 from 9 pm will bring a rock party, and it is to be expected that despite the cold weather, the bands "Akademia", "Partibrejkers" and "Van Gogh" will warm up all visitors of Budva.

31 December 2018 - Tens of thousands of people welcomed the New Year 2019 at the square in front of the Old Town in Budva, according to the Tourist Organization of Budva. Director Maja Liješević pointed out that the hotels in Budva recorded an occupancy rate of almost 90%, while private accommodation was mostly reserved for guests from the countries of the region.

The New Year celebration in Budva started with "Jack Lupino and the Leftovers", after which the crowd welcomed “Aerodrom", one of the most famous bands of Yugoslavia. The locals and tourists had the opportunity to enter the year 2019 with the songs of Dino Merlin.

The representatives of Tourist Organization of Budva consider that their effort paid off, that the program was planned and  implemented in the right way to satisfy a broad auditorium and different age structure of visitors. They also highlighted that even thought the program was rich in performances, it did not lose quality, which was the intention of the organizers.

On the eve of December 31, Budva welcomed guests from all over the region, not only from Montenegro. It is not accidental that on the year Budva is celebrating its 20th anniversary of organizing the New Year's Eve in the city square, the program will last for five days. The three previous nights (December 28,29 and 30) were a really good overture and had a great guest attendance, but the crown night with the best atmosphere and quality was the New Year’s Eve.

Daily programs in Budva and Petrovac were mainly aimed at the youngest visitors who enjoyed theatre plays from the Budva Drama Studio, actors from the City Theatre from Podgorica and "UV Dance" from Belgrade, but also at some of the older guests who appreciate the sound of city orchestras and coastal bands.

Source: RTCG

December 30, 2018 - New Year's program in Bokelian cities is very diverse, so it's hard not to find a party for your taste. Whether you are a fan of good rock, love pop or enjoy the sounds of folk music, Kotor, Tivat, Budva or Herceg Novi will satisfy your preferences. Here's a review of the New Year's programs that will make it easy for you to make a decision.

NEW YEAR PROGRAM - KOTOR

Kotor enters the New Year with the sounds of good rock. After the Children’s New Year and performances of Kotor’s musicians planned for today, tomorrow a two-day Rock New Year's program begins, where the most popular regional rock names of today will perform.

NEW YEAR PROGRAM - TIVAT

The main New Year program in Tivat is closer to the preferences of fans of folk music, but the organizers made sure to offer a diverse accompanying program.

NEW YEAR PROGRAM - HERCEG NOVI

Herceg Novi and its guests will enter the New Year 2019 with the hits of the Belgrade rock band "Riblja čorba" and their frontman Bora Djordjevic. They will perform at Igalo on 31 December from 23:00. At the same stage at 21:00, as a pre-band, Kotor’s band "Light under the black mountain" performs.

NEW YEAR PROGRAM- BUDVA

This year, Budva organizes a jubilee New Year celebration on the square in front of the Old Town.

December 27, 2018 - Mayor of Budva Dragan Krapović presented a new strategic project in Budva - a traffic solution for the city center through converting the streets of November 22^nd and the Mediterranean into the boulevards and building a roundabout near the Main post office. Krapović reiterated that the Municipality proposed four strategic projects, which would give Budva an entirely new look.

"After we stabilized finances and total opportunities and entered the regular work area and established the system after many years, we came to the situation that after only two years we offer some strategic projects that would significantly improve the lives of all the people in Budva. Firstly, I mean the already presented project of paving Grdjevica, on two garages in the center of the city that would finally solve the problem of parking in Budva. For this project, we have the investor's interest and some solutions offered, and this will be disclosed quickly," said Krapovic.

He added that the Municipality believes that it is crucial to get a modern Mediterranean promenade.

"These three projects would bring a completely new, orderly and more functional city to the citizens, and a better, more comfortable and more desirable destination for our guests. Today we want to present you a traffic solution for the city center - November 22^nd street, which, worth 800 thousand euros, is in the plan of investments for 2019, a roundabout near the Main post office and then a new solution for Mediterranean street. If we were to implement these four projects in the next five to seven years, which is not unrealistic because we did not offer megalomaniac fantasies, I believe we would get a new functional city and an extremely competitive destination for the next 50 years," said Krapovic.

The presentation of the project was done by the docent dr. Biljana Ivanović, a graduate Construction Engineer.

Text by Vuk Lajovic, on December 26th 2018, read more at Vijesti

21 December 2018 - Tourist Organization of the Municipality of Budva and the Association of Caterers of Budva are organising the event Christmas Piazzetta which should additionally complement the city's tourist offer during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.  

This event will take place from December 22 to January 15 at the Budva’s City Park. The program of the Christmas Piazzetta will include a vibrant music and entertainment program, exhibitions of souvenirs and handicrafts, as well as the offer of drinks and delicacies exhibited by numerous caterers from Budva.

The program of the Piazzetta is designed to suit all ages and tastes, so the organisers have prepared activities dedicated to the youngest audience, evening events when cocktail masters will entertain and serve visitors, costume nights and more!

This Sunday (December 23) is reserved for the youngest - from 10 am to 2 pm there will be a music and entertainment program which will include children from Public Preschool Institution "Ljubica Jovanović-Maša", PPI "My World” and PPU" Winnie the Pooh", dance group "Iskra" and members of the Youth Club Budva. A creative workshop for children will also be organized, in which the little ones can make greeting cards, ornaments, and souvenirs. Their handicrafts will be sold, and this will raise funds for the purchase of wheelchairs for the needs of the "Second primary school" in Budva, attended by children with disabilities.

On December 24, from 19:00 to 20:00, the guests will be entertained by the sounds from the band Harmonija, followed by the band Toć from 20:00 to 24:00.

On December 25, the organisers have prepared a Christmas Celebration from 20:00 to 24:00, with the Castell Nuovo band.

Numerous locals have already shown great interest in the Night of Cocktails (December 26th) and Costume Night (December 27th).

The Christmas Piazzetta, which takes place from December 22 to January 15, offers a unique and rich musical program that can suit the tastes of all guests - from the fans of rock and pop sounds, those who prefer electronic music, to those who enjoy the wonderful sounds of tambourines.