05 August 2019 - Croatia has been complaining about a weak summer season, which is probably happening due to the high prices. The situation in Montenegro is different and the prices, according to foreign tourists, have not changed compared to the last year and correspond to the quality of Montenegrin offer, as CdM reported.

Managing Director of the Directorate for the Development of Tourism Destination in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism Ćazim Hodžić said that prices in the Montenegrin cities are the same as last year.

“We have not changed the prices, but I have to say that many places enhanced the quality of their offer,” Hodžić pointed out.

He claims that Montenegro is not an expensive tourism destination and also that the country offers packages for high and low net-worth individuals as well.

Comparing the tourism offer with the region, Hodžić said that Montenegro is way cheaper than Croatia. As for the results of this year’s summer season, Montenegro visitor numbers hit record levels, but it is too early to speak about the revenues and the number of tourists.

General Manager in Hilton Podgorica, Nemanja Nikolić, also believes that Montenegro cannot categorize a destination as cheap or expensive, but that it can be said that certain amenities in a destination are cheap or expensive.

“As for Montenegro, it has diversified tourism offer, that is, we are oriented towards both high net-worth individuals and those spending less money in our country. Unfortunately, we can not describe our country as the leading tourism destination as we need much more than 5-star hotels. All tourism destinations are easily accessible and it is important to understand that Croatia or Greece are not our only competitors but all the other destinations similar to ours,” stressed out Nikolić.

President of small and medium-sized hotels in the Montenegrin Tourism Association, Dejan Rađenović, thinks prices easily succumb to changes thanks to the internet.

“Every tourism company/entrepreneur determines its own pricing policy. Prices easily succumb to everyday changes thanks to the internet, depending on the offer and demand in accommodation capacities,” Rađenović emphasized.

He also pointed out that Montenegro is not too expensive and that the tourists can choose different kinds of accommodation, depending on their finances.

President of small and medium-sized hotels in the Montenegrin Tourism Association, Dejan Rađenović, believes prices are not the greatest problem of Montenegrin tourism, but that the problem is the grey economy.

“In addition, this year the authorities did a lot in order to reduce noise and that is a huge step forward,” Rađenović concluded.

Read more news about traveling through Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

01 August 2019 - In the first six months of 2019, more than half a million tourists have been recorded in Montenegrin hotels. That is 23,6% more tourists, or 12,5% beyond the results recorded in the same period in 2018, as CdM reported.

New preliminary data provided by the Statistical Office of Montenegro indicated a very successful season in relation to collective accommodation, regardless of bad weather conditions in May and June. The total number of guests amounted to 502.744 whereas the number of overnights reached 1.523.475.

These figures suggest a trend of shorter stays and extended weekend-trips as a new fashion in the world.

Budva is still the “capital of tourism”. There have been 211.826 tourists in the hotels in Budva.

According to the number of tourists, the Capital comes second. Although hotel capacities in Podgorica are scarce, it has welcomed 75.693 visitors. According to the number of overnights, Herceg Novi is in second place. Tivat has had 33.897 guests and 77.046 tourists, Bar has had 20.404 and 83.929 overnights. Around 20.015 guests and even 85.369 overnights have been recorded in Ulcinj.

Since the beginning of the year until the end of June, around 31.370 tourists have visited main tourist centers in the north, Kolašin and Žabljak.

Tourists from Germany were dominant in the structure of our visitors. They are followed by visitors from Serbia, and then come tourists from China and Hong Kong. Guests from Russia have recorded the highest number of overnights – 157.686. Guests from Serbia recorded 140.080 overnights whereas Germans generated 129.076. Chinese and Albanians still have short stays in Montenegro.

The next set of data on the number of tourists and overnights in registered hotels, resorts and similar accommodation facilities will be published on 30 August. Total data regarding all types of accommodation will be published at the end of February.

Read more news about traveling through Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

31 July 2019 - Starting July 31, visitors to the Kanli Kula Fortress in Herceg Novi will be able to “step” into the medieval era and take a peek into what this centuries-old fortress and the town of Herceg Novi looked like throughout history using of augmented reality goggles and 3D animation.

This brand new concept will be implemented at the high-tech Visitor Centre, which was recently opened at the Kanli Kula Fortress. The equipment of the Visitors Centre is funded by European Union through the Interreg IPA Cross-border Cooperation Program Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro 2014-2020 for the Fortress ReInvented Project - Innovative approach and digital contents in historical fortification monuments. The total value of the project, whose funds are used by institutions and organizations from four municipalities - Šibenik, Klis, Herceg Novi and Zenica, amounts to 1.3 million EUR, reports European Integration Office of Montenegro.

"Thanks to the European funds for cross-border cooperation, the Kanli Kula Fortress in Herceg Novi, the Old Town of Vranduk near Zenica, the fortress of St. Mihovil in Šibenik and Klis will receive high-tech equipment, which will enable visitors “step” into the medieval era and experience the true value of cultural and historical heritage of these precious structures," Montenegro's Chief Negotiator with European Union Aleksandar Drljević said at the opening of the Visitors Centre.

He emphasised that cultural heritage and tourism are one of 4 thematic priorities that the trilateral program for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro has identified as priorities for the development of the cross-border area. The other three priorities include improving public health and health care services, protecting the environment and improving energy efficiency and supporting the competitiveness and operations of SMEs.

The Mayor of Herceg Novi, Stevan Katić, emphasised that the Herceg Novi municipality is the first in Montenegro to implement this type of project, which will surely attract the fans of cultural tourism and improve the tourist offer of the city. As he said, the Kanli Kula Fortress got a new concept - in addition to the most beautiful summer theatre, stage and cinema under the open sky and in front of the open sea, it became a real time machine. "The project of reinvention of the Kanli Kula, which is one of the emblems of our city, was carried out without the slightest disturbance of its architectural identity. Only the barriers of time have been moved, allowing us to extend the experience and visually experience the historical events, epochs and civilizations that this grandiose monument testifies to," said Katić.

Visitors will have the opportunity to rent 20 augmented reality goggles with installed video content in 4 different languages to choose from, which present the history of Kanli Kula Fortress and Herceg Novi. The goggles with 3D animations will be used while taking a tour through the fortress, following the prepared map with checkpoints that require visitors’ attention.

This cross-border project also includes the installation of a screen that will provide visitors with the opportunity to take a live tour through the partner forts from the other two countries. An innovative sound guide to all four fortresses, with an application that enables the automatic activation of content when visitors pass by, is provided for people with visual impairments.

Read more information on places to visit when travelling through Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

31 July 2019 - The following article represents the personal perspective of author Gunther Fehlinger on the 12 concrete recommendations for European Montenegro and the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Total Montenegro News.

This article is the 3rd in series to contribute to better tourism and economic development by Austrian and European best practices in transport and tourism planning and pricing. For more information about the economic part, read Strategy for European Boka 2020 and for transport and mobility issues, read Smart Mobility Strategy RecommendationsRecommendations from 2018, still fully to be implemented.

This article from July 2019 discusses concrete experiences and builds simple, small budget recommendations on how to improve the 2020 tourism season. The Austrian author lives has lived in Morinj Montenegro every summer since 2006 and is an economic consultant for European transition economies.

1. Meet the Montenegro border and customs!

Entering Montenegro from Bosnia, the welcome is a one hour waiting at the smallest border crossing and a warm welcome by a rough, unfriendly Montenegro border policeman working slowly and asking in bad English what I want in Montenegro. Well, a good question – most Europeans in the summertime in a car with children come for tourism, not for arms, drugs nor car smuggling! A kind smile and welcome to Montenegro would be just fine. But well maybe smiling is not part of the job description for the border police in Balkans.

2. Have a green card or driving a stolen car?

Car smuggling is a good topic, must be common in the EU in 2019 as the border police ask for car papers and a green card for each car. Most cars coming from northern Montenegro are from the EU or Bosnia or Serbia - where else they should come from? I actually happened to come from Kyiv, Ukraine by car and it is the first time I was checked for papers and green cards since entering the EU at the Polish -Ukrainian border. Nobody asked me when I left Schengen in Slovenia – Croatian border nor when I entered Bosnia but when entering Montenegro, I am checked and registered and this takes time. Arriving at the border at the new small border checkpoint I chose because I had the pleasure of waiting many hours at the other bigger checkpoints to Croatia and Bosnia many times before, so I decided for this one close to Foča in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Well done, I thought when there were only 7 cars and I consider myself smart and lucky and after one hour I passed with just 7 cars in line and I doubted my choice.  Sure, we must have control and simply waving summer tourists through like inside EU might not be possible, but really, is it necessary to register every car and check the green card? We in the EU have the administrative capacities to ensure that all cars are insured and in fact they are and who comes in the EU we anyhow check at our EU land border to Ukraine & Belarus and where shall the cars come from if not from the EU, Bosnia or Serbia when entering the northern checkpoints of Montenegro? And if you do not trust Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia cars for green cards well OK check them but EU registered cars? And are there so many stolen cars you find with these checks?

3. End this nonsense asking for car papers and green cards!

Why not scrap these useless annoying asking for car papers and insurance have much faster border process and invest a bit more in EU standards road safety measures? One simple measure and everybody is happier to come back a second time in amazing and magic Montenegro with great people and amazing landscape but quite backward procedures introduced after the Balkan Wars when smuggling to main business in southern Balkans but are they really justified today? No. So, one simple order from Ministry of Interior to stop asking EU registered cars at the northern border check with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the summer season for car papers and green cards and well Montenegro has many more happy EU tourists. Or stop that unnecessary procedure fully for all – we are in 2019 not in 1999.

4. Transit trucks in tourist coastal area during peak season?

Better border management during season includes to interdict transit during the season at the coastal border crossing and forcing them inland. Simple inform all logistic companies that no truck above 3,5 t will be allowed to cross from Croatia to Montenegro and such trucks are allowed in July and August only the main Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro border crossing close to Nikšić. Assign the customs official to that border crossing and simple stop transit above 3,5 t during the 2 crucial months for the Bay of Kotor relevant border crossings. Inform the transport industry now and assign some more customs officials to the main border crossing at the M6 close to Vilusi.

5. Allow only delivery trucks with coastal destination or origin to use the Adriatic Highway during the season.

And constant traffic jams at the Adriatic Highway will be much better between Herceg Novi and Ulcinj in July and August only truck for delivery target costly supply chain and the rest inland on Nikšić – Podgorica – Shkoder and next year to the new highway north if transit is for Kosovo and beyond. And yes, to the Adriatic Highway but this I have discussed so often elsewhere, and here only about the small items with big effect – but still yes you need a big inland motorway connecting Croatia with Albania along with your main population centres of Nikšić and Podgorica. Why build the Northern Highway to nowhere first is beyond understanding, but anyhow, good, it is ready, but now for the real part the Adriatic Highway.

6. More landing spots for the Ferry on each side and re-locate the Port Master House

The border and transit lead to the ferry over the Boka, the most famous bottleneck of the past has a lot of its terror since now 6 ferries are in operation and transport is swift and waiting times still considerable but no longer painful. Now the real bottleneck is the lack of landing spots for the ferries. Each side in Kamenari and Lepentane has only 3 and so the ferries have to wait in the straits until on and off loading allows for the next ferry to land. On Lepentane side there is ample space for the 4^th landing spot on the Tivat side of the village and why not ask the operator to do it or share the costs with the Government as part of the concession? On the Kamenari Herceg Novi side, there is space but the obstacle is the Old Port Master house in stone blocking the space. While it may cost a bit to simple expropriate it the costs of simple re-locating it and rebuilding the house 300 m towards the Herceg Novi side on the seaside next to the Old Stone House ensemble seems reasonable compared to the traffic obstacle it poses for public safety and welfare. There is a great beach zone close to the Port now looking to Tivat and now a bit in shadow of the ferry port there are two old stone houses and a perfect spot for a small Marina for sport boats and why not re-locate the Old Port Master House there and make a nice small protected marina for small boats there on the Herceg Novi side of the Ferry Port and so upgrade the whole Verige Bay with a working nice Marina for small boats left  of Kamenari and a 4^th landing spot for the ferry and straighten out the street which in the most important obstacle for the bottleneck of the ferry port?

7. Learn from the Austrian Alpine Village forbidding transit traffic in summer

And there to build a checkpoint and stop all transit trucks and force them on the ferry if they still made it through the border. And to ask and force all major vehicle without final destination inner Boka Bay onto the Ferry. We do the same in many Alpine villages to forbid transit in a village when there is a highway and the same principle applies to Ferry and UNESCO Inner Bay. Only source and destination traffic may pass now and later add an entry fee as outlined in Boka Bay 2020 article but for now, enforce the usage of the Ferry for all major vehicles who do not need to go there for accommodation or supply or tourism reason. If you put a policeman asking all and a table to explain the ferry makes more turnover as well and put the cost of the re-location to the Ferry operator. The Austrian Government did the same in Sarajevo with the INATI Restaurant even 150 years ago. It can be done within one winter no problem and the traffic is much faster no need for bridge or tunnel at all.

8. Traffic restriction for Inner Bay of Kotor – speed limit 30 km/h all along the Bay road in season

This leads to the traffic restriction for the Inner Bay of Kotor I have called for many years now. During the season only two months access only with payment is the best option. As the Austrian Administration has built the coastal road as it is today and it was the right decision but today in main touristic usage in summer both traffic and consumers walking to the beaches of the Inner bay have to live in some cooperation which can only work if you put a price tag on the entry and so only the once with a reason of logistics to the Bay and tourism in the Bay come in and the rest either pays or uses the ferry. With a resident card, I have outlined already this is simple to administer and the effect for the Inner Bay tourism will be amazing. The Bay road is a touristic sensation in itself and not a transit truck stops nor a rally track for local youth nor a black spot for traffic accidents nor a road where slow driving tourists are an annoying domestic supply truck in beach zone as they are smoothing home while other work and drive in summer heat, stay out of Boka all who are busy it is a zone of relax! And the simplest measure is a speed limit of 30 km/h with speed reduction measures like speed bumps – sleeping policemen in all village zones, beach access meaning basically everywhere in each 200 m and so to simply enforce the speed limit with physical infrastructure and remove it outside the season if this is what you want but during the crucial 2 months put many of them all along the Inner Bay road. Soon most local drivers from Herceg Novi and Kotor avoiding the Ferry will start to use it as it will be much faster and the Inner Bay road is for tourist with leisure and time no longer afraid for their life. True there are not so many deadly accidents mainly because the road allows anyhow only slow speed so 30km/h won’t be a shock but indeed there are so many angry shouting’s, near accident, desperate breaks, closes missing of families waking to the beach and people speeding by which are not part of any traffic statistic but make sure many European families never return to Boka and are happy to survive such conditions. And it is the family fathers driving who have the budgets to pay for expensive accommodation during summer who are competing on the road for safety with the resident voters who want to use the road in summer in same hyper speed as always to drink their coffee in just another coastal town or impress their girlfriends, true these are your voters but we are you costumers are we want safer roads for our family in the 2 months of the summer! Speed bumper and speed limit 30 in the Inner Bay from 2020 onwards.

9. Upper Village bypass road – build them now before all hills are full of buildings!

Well, what to do with the traffic jam from Tivat to Bar, Herceg Novi to Ulcinj? Again, the Adriatic Highway will help and again working with Croatian, Bosnia, Albanian and Kosovo road authorities and media to communicate that the inland road via Podgorica is much faster would ensure a lot of Albanian and Diaspora drivers to drive inland. But some congestion in Adriatic coastal towns might be simply unavoidable. But it really does not take an international expert to understand upper bypasses are what needs to be done like in Perast, Dobrota and Petrovac as well for Tivat, Budva, Risan and Bar. Well it might not work for all – in Kotor and Morinj it is hard to do but in Risan, Bar and Budva, Herceg Novi & Bijela it is all planned and rather simple to do. I have written about it in Smart Mobility for Montenegro One and no need to come back. I am surprised you build the access road to Cetinje first and neglect the coastal bypass for now. The longer you delay the more building up there makes the project more expensive with higher costs for land access and expropriation. Some beach shuttles and some night live shuttles to bring people from and to beaches and from and to the night life (remember – do not drink and drive !) might do wonders. Most people go to same beaches during all holiday and taking a bus is much more cost-saving than using a car in a traffic jam and paying for parking if you ever can find a parking space at the coast in summer.

10. Parking with smart pricing – higher during peak season! 0,8 offseason and 2 Euro in season

This leads to parking I have discussed this as well before but back to basics - public space is for the public but the access is payable and pricing decides the access and usage. And for the massive user meaning residents and long-time tourists who needs parking a long time reduce subscription on non-discriminatory basis meaning everybody of EU or Montenegro resident can buy it and it results in cheaper access long term but all short-term single user pays for parking and pays an amount which secures there is parking reasonable accessible for short term access. Good, what does that mean concrete?

First, all coastal Municipalities have to ensure all their area is short term parking during summer.  Second, all accommodation has to have the legal obligation to provide parking at their accommodation or pay a fine to municipalities. Better public transport from beaches can be financed with such revenue. So, Perast with 5 Euro a day in too cheap but for one hour too expensive. Porto Montenegro with 2 Euro per hour is about right in the Coastal Area. Morinj beach parking for 2 Euro per day is much too cheap. Any beer costs 2 Euro for a drink and parking a day for 2? No! And why pay 5 Euro if you stay only one hour? That is a bit excessive! So, what is needed is simple to increase the public parking fee from 80 Eurocents to 2 Euros in July and August in all coastal municipalities public and private parking and oblige all accommodation providers to build their own parking spaces or pay a fine to municipalities or to rent one for each apartment and yes you can do that legally we in Vienna call that Stellplatzverpflichtung google it. Parking at the accommodation should be included in the price of the accommodation and if you want to make excursions than you have to pay for the parking as part of your excursion budget and off-season return to 0,8 Euro.

11. Social unfair or a major burden for citizens?

Please remember that tourism is the key to Montenegro prosperity for all citizens. It is your only major industry for foreign revenue and affects all sectors from construction material to Government to agriculture to IT, simple everything depends on the money earned by tourism, accommodation and hospitality sector. So, call on the population that they know in July and August parking is expensive and organise their life accordingly and organise public administration accordingly. Nobody shall need to go to MUP or Municipality in summer – do that during the year in the time of e-Gov! Most things can be done after the summer and keep your museums open on Mondays in the tourism season! I mean I it is a tourism country and all you recent 13 years of success is funded by tourism, land sales to tourism, construction projects due to tourism – a Podgorica city boom funded by selling the coastal property to tourism investor and consumer and without tourism where would you be? And tourism season is short in Montenegro and so do all other things during the rest of the year and focus on tourism during the 60 or 75 days there is interest and consumption and simple treat tourists as the individual they are who work hardback home to spend in your amazing country and have deserved your full respect or they move to Turkey, Greece or Tunisia or Croatia.  So, a working and successful tourism sector is crucial for the welfare of pensioners and construction workers and hospital employees and please this is message to educate all population – we are not "neki turisti" but the most important lifeline of prosperity of all Montenegro so next time you meet a tourist – we are all tourists here not immigrants be friendly say hello, speak some words in English, smile at least a bit, drive carefully and do not push or bully or threaten a tourist but treat him and his family for the respect required and deserved for working hard a year to spend his and her time and money in your country. Everybody to do so is an honour and show him and her that he is welcome. And stop complaining about cruise ships, tourist just looking, high prices and overcrowding but organise your public system better to cope with the inflow and so developed from a developing country to a European Member Montenegro to which all other European are happy to bring their money and spend their time full of happy memories and not afraid of their safety and in traffic jams. And getting a prosperous tourism magnet is the only way to keep funding your pension system, your hospitably open and your welfare system running and so it is not anti-social to ask for 2 Euro per hour for parking but it is perfectly possible for poor people to take the bus during summertime or walk to the beach. And again, the hard truth the summer is for people in a summer holiday destination the main working period – it is the time everybody here should be working full time in the tourism industry and no it is not for the Montenegro youth you enjoy but to work in summer in. tourism. Ask in any Austrian Alpine ski village if the people ski in winter – if they do then as ski instructors or during some off days but during the rest of the season they are working very hard to earn for all year when their village is less in demand.

12. Invest in modern parking systems – with card payments!

Amazing Porto Montenegro has not Credit Card parking payment – investing half a billion Euro but not buying the payment option for the parking system provider what is that about? We are now in the world of contactless payments by bank cards and good and apple pay and Porto Montenegro is asking everybody to park the car and pay at a parking machine in cash!

And in Tivat Airport it is the symbol for careless management of the details – there is nothing happening when no flight but when two flight arrive at about the same time - the one parking area is so full and for leaving you have to wait for 40 min each time to pay their 80 Eurocents just because there is just one booth working to allow this payment in cash to leave the parking system? Is this European Montenegro in 2019 or Yugoslavia 1989? Anywhere in the world, there is an automated parking system with Credit Cards and in Montenegro, so do you have to have people in hot boxes collecting cash?

And it takes no new concession or major strategy to open a second booth to pay for parking, just a bit of love and care for your consumer and tourists. It is the combination and accumulation of small steps with a big impact by time which turns countries in successful tourist destinations. And again, what will you be without tourism? Montenegro would be condemned to live of its agriculture and industry and both are having very little commercial prospect without a construction industry selling flats to the world and food to consumer in restaurants frequented by tourists.  It took as in Austria 2 generations to get this touristic mentality going but visit Austria no matter what the weather the experience is great and we have amazing return figures of tourists coming back every year.

Stop complaining - make sure there is nobody complaining about you

Complaining about a bad season results in nothing – you need to make sure tourists find nothing to complain in standard public services. And be sure a day a beach with truck passing by, a city visit to magic Perast with no parking, a long wait at the border, or parking payment box or traffic jams whenever at the Highway lead to a One and Only visit mentality for Montenegro tourists – come once and great and we come back once you are ready later in the decade once you are in the EU and all of this will anyhow be done inside the EU. But please why not now and turn every tourist into an Ambassador for Montenegro -saying to everybody back home that Montenegro is not only magic and amazing but as well ready for European future by being positive experiences in all simple 12 steps as outlined above. And please implement them before the Adriatic Highway reaches Montenegro and will bring much more European tourists into driving range from the European population's centre in Central Europe.

This article is the 3rd in series to contribute to better tourism and economic development by Austrian and European best practices in transport and tourism planning and pricing. For more information about the economic part read Strategy for European Boka 2020 and transport and mobility issues read Smart Mobility Strategy RecommendationsRecommendations from 2018, still fully to be implemented.

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

27 July 2019 - Traffic laws in Montenegro still have not defined the use of self-balance e-scooters on public roads and that is why the Montenegrin National Police plans to launch an initiative requiring amendments to the road safety legislation. Until then, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro urges the citizens to be more careful on roads/pavements, reported CdM.

E-Scooters with electric motors are already commonly used in many cities of Montenegro, not just by children but the adults as well.

Despite many advantages, experts warn of potential dangers with powered scooters, having in mind they can travel up to 35 km/h. As they represent a completely new mode of transport on Montenegro’s roads, laws governing road safety still haven’t defined it closely, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.

However, the Office for Communal Affairs, Transport and Energy Efficiency for the Tivat Municipality have announced that between the hours of 7 PM and 11 PM daily, the Pine Boardwalk, Marshal Tito Street and Ivo Vizin Boardwalk will be closed to bicycles and e-scooters.

“The measure has been taken in response to an increase in the number of cycle and scooter users on the boardwalk who travel at a speed that is a real danger to pedestrians, particularly small children,” highlighted the Tivat Municipality representatives on this occasion.

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

27 July 2019 - Co.Co.Tour (Coastal Communities Tourism) project will have the third meeting and the Steering Committee of the project in Herceg Novi on Wednesday, July 31st, as stated from the Municipality of Herceg Novi Cabinet of President. The partners from Italy, Albania and Montenegro will talk about the implementation of project activities through which, among other things, the reconstruction of the House of Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric is being realized.

 Official addresses to partners were planned on that day at 12 pm, in the Grand Hall of the Municipality of Herceg Novi. The guests will be greeted by the Mayor of Herceg Novi Stevan Katic, Executive Director of the Agency for Local Democracy Niksic Kerim Međedović and Head of the Office for International Cooperation Simonida Kordić.

In accordance with the project activities, the same day, at 16:30, a visit to the House of Ivo Andrić is planned, where the representatives of the partners will have the opportunity to see the works and get acquainted in more detail with the course of the reconstruction financed through the project Co. Co. Tour.

The Co.Co.Tour project aims to preserve and promote the natural and cultural heritage of coastal communities through the development of a cross-border model and a network of eco-communities and community museums with smart, sustainable, tourism management.

This is the first time in the world that such a model of the eco-museum network is developing, which implies the use of smart technologies, the involvement of the local community with its specificities, putting particular emphasis on accessibility.

According to the Port Museum in Tricase, in the ambient of the renovated House of the Nobel Prize-winning Ivo Andrić, there are plans to establish an eco museum and community museum, which will connect the touristic capacities, cultural, natural and historical characteristics of the city from scales with personality, life and by the work of the great writer, Ivo Andric.

The leading partner of the project is the Albanian Development Fund, while the other partners are Local Democracy Agency Niksic, Herceg Novi Municipality, Tricase Municipality (province of Lecce, part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy), Magna Grecia Mare Organization (Italy), Himara Municipality (part of the Vlorë County, Southern Albania) and Associated Partner Agency for the Protection of Natural Areas (Albania).

The event organizer is the Local Democracy Agency Niksic in partnership with the Municipality of Herceg Novi.

Kanli Kula Fortress in Herceg Novi is getting a high-tech Visitor Center, which is part of the IPA Fortress ReInvented project. It will open on Wednesday, July 31, starting at 18:00, as said in the announcement by the Municipality of Herceg Novi Cabinet of President.                                                            The opening event will be a premiere of the documentary feature film "Herceg’s New Town", which depicts the history of the establishment of Herceg Novi, and was shot as part of the realization of this project.The director and author is Dragi Vujačić, and the film is being produced by "Digital dab", which was the best bidder with "Čikom" on the tender for equipment procurement and digital content being released by Herceg Novi Municipality.

This documentary-historical film shows people, habits, food, fashion, features of appearance and speech, all based on historical facts related to the events that the film describes. In addition, special attention has been paid to presenting Kanli Kula and her role to spectators, with the historical personality of Herceg Stjepan and the importance of the Square of Salt – Trg soli.

The officials will also have the opportunity to get acquainted with the details of the filming and activities on the project, which is being implemented by the Office for International Cooperation on behalf of the Municipality of Herceg Novi.

AR devices will be presented, that is, those working on the augmented reality system, which will be available to visitors at Kanli Kula.

Herceg Novi will also receive the "Fortress reality window" through the project, more precisely the screen through which it will be able to monitor events in real time at other locations in the partner towns: Fortress of St. Mihovil in Sibenik, fortress Klis in the city with the same name and the fortress Vranduk in Zenica.

The project "Innovative Approach and Digital Content in Historical Fortresses - Fortress ReInvented" is being implemented within the Interreg IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Program Croatia-Bosnia-Herzegovina-Montenegro 2014-2020. The project leader is the Museum of the City of Sibenik, and the partners are, apart from the Municipality of Herceg Novi, the Museum of the City of Zenica and the Municipality of Klis. The total value of the project for all partners is € 1.3 million, and the amount of € 202,609.25 is allocated for the Municipality of Herceg Novi.

25 July 2019 - Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković met with Miguel Fluxa Rosselló, the owner and Executive President of the Iberostar Group that has been operating in our country for over ten years.

The meeting expressed mutual satisfaction with the cooperation between the Government of Montenegro and this world tourist giant, which has an annual income exceeding 2.4 billion EUR in 35 countries, generating 10% of total tourist nights in hotels and 25% in high-class hotels, as stated in the announcement by the Office of the Prime Minister of Montenegro.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković and the Executive President of Iberostar Miguel Fluxa Rosselló jointly assessed that the cooperation initiated at their first meeting almost three years ago is an example of the successful implementation of the vision of sustainable tourism development and an important step forward in enriching Montenegro's tourist offer and significantly expanding the offer of this renowned company.

Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković informed the Iberostar Executive President Miguel Fluxa Rosselló about the extremely good results of this summer's tourist season saying that the number of guests in the hotels has increased and that financial indicators point to revenue growth.

The Executive President of Iberostar Miguel Fluxa Rosselló, whose company operates in Herceg Novi, Perast and Bečići, expressed interest in further improvement of the Montenegrin offer and expansion of business in our country and in the region. In that sense, concrete steps have been agreed on increasing the number of airlines flying to Montenegro and further improvement of our utility infrastructure.

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

Scholarships for eight young athletes from Herceg Novi in the academic year 2019/20 have been awarded thanks to the established cooperation of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, Swimming Water Polo Club (PVK) Jadran and the Basketball Club Primorje 1945 with the Faculty of Management, as announced from the Municipality.

Starting from the common interest for the development of the local community and scientific research, and in an effort to expand and intensify cooperation in the field of science and sports, a protocol on business and technical cooperation was signed, which stipulates that this year the Municipality and the Faculty will co-finance scholarships for three students who are members of BC Primorje in 1954 and five students-players of PVK Jadran.

Marko Grkovic, Milos Radojkovic and Ivan Misinezovic from BC Primorje in 1945, as well as Dimitrije Obradovic, Petar Mijušković, Đuro Radović, Luka Murišić and Darko Đurović from PVK Jadran, received support through scholarships for this academic year.

"Last year we signed individual contracts with Primorje and Jadran, and this year, thanks to the initiative of the Municipality and with the desire to intensify this cooperation, we have consolidated everything into one contract. We decided to co-finance young athletes with the Municipality, as one of our ways of contributing and socially useful work, but also recognizing the need to keep talents in the city, " said the Dean of the Faculty of Management, Doc. Dr Irena Petrusic, adding that she hoped for expansion of cooperation in the coming years.

The local government sees this move as another way to support Herceg Novi clubs that have senior selections and perform in elite competitions.

"This is one of the ways to keep high-quality players in the city, young people who want to promote themselves in this city after finishing high school. Last year we had a pilot project, and now we have already established stable cooperation. This year we have eight students, and I hope that the next will be even more, and from other clubs, " said Municipal Secretary for Social Activities and Sports, Darko Klasic.

The director of PVK Jadran, Miloš Mračević, thanked the Municipality and the Faculty for recognizing the importance of education for young people who are engaged in sports in Herceg Novi, and for helping their development.

"I hope that our athletes will achieve very good academic results, in addition to top sports results, and that they will be for example at the faculty as they are in sports, and that they will lead a wave of young people who want to continue their education in their own city," Mracevic said.

In a short time, the initiative came to a great realization, because all the companion forces recognized its importance and need, added the president of the KK Primorje 1945, Željko Roganović. According to him, encouraging the parallel sport and academic development of young people is an example of good practice in Herceg Novi.

"This could be an incubator of new knowledge and a magnet for other young people to stay in Herceg Novi for academic development at the Faculty of Management," said Roganovic.

He thanked the signatories of the protocol and invited other business entities to contribute to the upgrading of this idea and to support the sport within its capabilities.

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.