16 December 2018 - Tivat Airport’s new departure terminal with 1,300 square metres, that should provide more comfort for passengers, faster and better service as well as better working conditions for Airport employees, will be officially opened on Monday, December 24.

"One of our most significant projects in the last ten years is the construction of a new terminal of 1300 square metres, which will enable the service of twice as many passengers in the departure gates compared to our current capacity. Also, by constructing a new terminal, passengers will enjoy more convenience, we will prevent jams, and the work of our employees will be more efficient," executive director of the Airports of Montenegro Danilo Orlandić said in August this year, announcing the completion of works by the end of the year.

The new departure terminal will include six check-in counters, two new lines for security screening as well as offices for representatives of airline companies. Tivat Airport PR service also confirmed the construction of official premises for representatives of the Police Directorate and the Customs Administration, passenger toilets and a room for sorting luggage with all accompanying equipment.

The new facility of the departure terminal of the Tivat Airport was built in less than three months and was constructed by the Podgorica-based company “Fidija.” The value of the new facility with its equipment is about 2,2 million EUR. The new terminal was built on the northwest side of the current airport terminal building, and Airports of Montenegro entirely financed it.

15 December 2018 - December at the Regent Porto Montenegro hotel will glow with a festive mood thanks to the Fifth Annual Christmas Market.

“Discover the Adriatic Winter wonderland and choose from a distinctive selection of local arts and crafts as well as traditional festive treats,” says the official invitation by the Hotel Regent.

The Christmas Market will be held during three weekends in December (15 and 16; 22 and 23; 29 and 30) from 12 am to 4 pm at the restaurant Gourmet Corner. This year, the event will once again bring together creators, small producers, art workshops and enthusiasts, who will offer their original products and creations to all visitors, thus launching a magic of festive gifts. Various products will be displayed at the stands: olive oil and other olive wood products, Christmas decorations, natural products made according to the traditional recipes, decoupage, toys made of natural materials, homemade jams and liqueurs, handmade jewellery and traditional hand-made scarves and bags. All visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy songs played by members of the band "Toć", which will support the Christmas Market and the Food Festival on December 15th and create the perfect conditions for socializing for the holidays.

The Regent Porto Montenegro food and beverage department will contribute to the Christmas Market offer with festive delicacies: traditional Christmas cakes and biscuits, hot chocolate, boiled wine, tea and other warm beverages. The Hotel’s restaurant will also supply the fair with salty delicacies such as sausages, homemade pasta that will be served with Grana Padano cheese, and fried Mediterranean sand smelt, which will give the beginning of this year's Christmas Market a unique gastronomic dimension. The Christmas Market is an ideal opportunity for everyone who wants to find a unique and interesting gift for their loved ones, to have fun and enjoy the magic of the holidays on the Tivat coast.

December 14, 2018 - Stefani Racic from Tivat, with two other people, crossed the Atlantic on a catamaran. The 24-year-old Stefani describes this unique accomplishment in a letter sent to Radio Tivat:

November 17^th, 2018 - Palma de Mallorca Saturday night, around 7 p.m..

It's raining and Pedro and I decided to go for a ride to the island to break the boredom. (A few days back, we got a job together with a couple from Israel on a 23-meter-long catamaran. The plan was to fly together to Antigua and to board the ship there, and the management paid the other crew for the delivery of the ship.)

At some point, we got a call to join the boat as soon as possible because the crew in charge of crossing was unable to do it for unknown reasons.

At first, the idea did not appeal to us, neither the captain and his wife, but in the end we agreed to fly to Las Palmas, where the ship was anchored after crossing from Mallorca.

Various thoughts passed through our heads, bad and good. None of us had ever seen that ship, let alone been on it. You are thinking why the crew abandoned the crossing - maybe something is wrong with the boat, maybe a storm was announced on TV, you see news from Tenerife where the waves are so big that it breaks the terraces of a hotel at the beach. The hardest thing for me was telling my parents I was crossing the Atlantic the following day, and I do not know when I will be able to contact them. Of course, all this sounds awful, but it still pushes you to do it, you feel the adrenaline, you think, however, it's the Atlantic crossing which some people dream of doing, it's a new and unpredictable path.

Days in silence, the only sound is the noise of the waves and the "banging" of the sails and cables. OK, we went, flew to Las Palmas and arrived there on Monday around 10 p.m., the captain waited for us on the docks and drove us to a ship that is anchored in front of the port. We meet his wife and friend whom they called with us, because he is the only one who crossed the Atlantic earlier.

In the morning we checked out, got fuel (stuffed into containers of 6L and large barrels of 150-200L), are all well secured on both sides of the ship and we departed.

Everything is OK on the first day. The next day, we noticed that the batteries are not being charged through the engine, which means that we have to use the generator to charge them, which additionally consumes the fuel. All right, what to do, not everything can be great.

A day or two after that, we begin to feel a very unpleasant smell on the boat, the black tank pump does not work, and the air from the pipe comes out between the two cabins, and we were troubled with that all the way to the Caribbean. We tried to repair, clean, wash, but it did not help.

The next thing that happened to us, there were 4 bottles of gas on the boat, because of the poor compressor we remained with only one bottle and so we had to save gas all the way and we cooked once or twice a day.

In all frenzy, not so big but enough to make you think, we enjoyed the beautiful nights of the full moon and the noise of the waves. Our night shift was from 11 pm to 4 am, but already around midnight the sky above the ocean began to be cloudy and the stars were less visible, very often at that time it rained a little bit.

After several days of not so good wind, we decided to use Code 0, although the sail was not in the best condition. We used it for perhaps 3 days until one afternoon, before sunset, when we started to pull down the sail its top broke where the lifter was passing through. The sail fell into the water, went under the ship together with all the scots and began to sink from the weight. We were going in circles for about 40 minutes with waves of perhaps 2m, somehow, we managed to get the sail out (thanks to Pedro who is strong enough to carry us all on his shoulders).

We all calmed down and decided to inspect each part of the ship to make sure something was not damaged by chance. When we turned on the engines, we noticed that water entered through the left shaft, we all panicked there, the shaft was shifted due to the pressure of the scot that the sail pulled behind before we cut it off. We were some 400 NM away from the Cape Verde Islands and decided to turn and move in that direction to take out the ship on the land, repair the shaft and take more fuel. However, when we started, the wind hit us right in the prow, and it can be very uncomfortable on the catamaran. I thought the ship would break into pieces, I was pale as snow and thought how I would survive for another 3 days in that weather.

After half an hour of sailing, no one liked how the boat was behaving and we decided not to go to Cape Verde, but we proceeded to the Caribbean.

Days passed slowly and without wind, so we managed to temporarily fix the shaft, if anything to stop the leaking of the water.

These days we saw the first whale pilots, it seemed amazing to see so great animals in the never-land. Dolphins surfed daily along the prow, dozens of dolphins. It happened that we see a bird or at least a "flying fish" that we thought was a bird.

We caught the first tuna in those days, and after a while we captured mahi-mahi fish. We would only fish if we ate the previous catch.

Somewhere in the middle of the road we opened the spinnaker, we were all under great tension and we did not want any more problems, but we had no choice, the spinnaker had to go up. The first day went well. The next day we noticed that something was wrong with the lifter, the guys climbed to the top of the mast (with 3m waves) to check what was wrong. The block through which the lifter was passing was damaged, which meant we could not use the spinnaker. The next day, we decided to use the spinnaker anyhow, but with a sail lifter code 0. It worked for a short time until the ropes began to be damaged by the excessive pressure and we had to shorten them each time after using the spinnaker.

The last 3-4 days of sailing the sky was clear, I never saw so many stars in my life, we would lie on the stern and watch. The same as the plankton that illuminated the path behind us. MAGICAL!!!

We saved some fuel on the road, so we have been using the engine for the last three days, and finally, after 18 days, we arrived in the beautiful Antigua, where after a long crossing we enjoyed the sandy beaches and all the magic of this tropical island before we started with further preparations for the job .

If this was the case over the Atlantic, I can only imagine how it was for sailors at the Volvo Ocean Race and how often they wondered "why do I need this in my life?" 

This is a wonderful ending of 2018 and even more beautiful start of the new one. Now a new wish list needs to be written because the previous one is fulfilled. This year I fulfilled more wishes than I expected, and for some as passing through Suez I did not hope much, but they did happen anyway. Suez, Corinth, Gibraltar, Atlantic. What's next?!

Text by Radio Tivat, on December 13th 2018, read more at CdM

10 December 2018 - Destination management organisations not only need to motivate potential visitors before they come to the location but ensure their overall impression of the journey is maximised with sufficient reasons to remember the experience and “tell the tales” about it once they return home. Tourists want information in the palm of their hand, ahead of the holiday and as soon as they arrive in a city.

Technology advancement has created the possibility to present travel tours and landscapes using mobile applications. Such applications not only make this information accessible from anywhere in the world but also give the opportunity to everyone to surface information about the tourist routes, to check the tourist infrastructure facilities, examine history, culture and natural monuments, make a tour/hotel booking in online etc.

An available and straightforward one-application-only solution that contains all the information visitors want to know encourages further exploration and discovery of the destination.

During last weekend, Tourist Organization of Tivat released the mobile application “Visit Tivat,” which offers plenty information on all current topics of interest to tourists when planning to visit this city and during the visit. The application was made in Montenegrin and English. “-What to see; -where to eat; -where to stay; -what to do; -what is Tivat known for “are just some of the questions answered by the newly released application. One of its advantages is that you can use the app offline as well.

“Visit Tivat mobile guide also has an integrated map function to enable you to visualise your itinerary, get directions and see where places of interest are located. In essence, this is Tivat’s guide on your mobile phone,” explains the developer within the Play Store description of the application.

Within the mobile application, Tourist Organization has highlighted all events and special offers to make the tour around the gem of the Montenegrin coast exciting and memorable for all tourists. The main goal of the “Visit Tivat” application is to provide information for the exploration of the city and remind the tourists why they want to come back again and share the experience with friends and family.

The next project which TO Tivat will work on is the implementation of other foreign languages for the mobile application as well as for the interactive display (a project initiated in 2017).

For now, the application is available to Android users only. You can download the app here.

08 December 2018 - Luštica Development Company presented the Luštica Bay Project in China for the first time. The project was presented at a prominent event organized in cooperation with the largest portal for investments and real estate in China, Juwai China Agent Summit.

“We are delighted to be the golden sponsor of Juwai China Agent Summit 2018, and a key speaker at the Property Forum today in Shanghai,” said the representatives of Luštica Development Company.

Juwai China Agent Summit is an event in China that provides instant on-the-ground sales channels, allowing individuals and companies to network with local Chinese agents, extend their network in China, and learn from industry experts about how to connect and do business with Chinese overseas property buyers. Juwai, which means “home overseas”, is visited by thousands of Chinese buyers each day from over 326 cities throughout China, as well as major Chinese communities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Beyond the opportunity to gain insights into the Chinese market from industry leaders, international agents who visit the Juwai event, gain the privilege to network one-to-one with top local Chinese agents from areas like real estate, immigration, financial wealth planning, and education industries – who may become valuable allies in capturing the vast Chinese “buying homes overseas” market.

Representatives of Luštica Development have had a great honour to participate in such an event, and even become the “golden sponsor” of the Juwai Manifestation. Still, their presentation in China continued during the Luxury Properties Showcase 2018 in Shanghai. LPS Shanghai is the leading luxury real estate exhibition held in China’s commercial and financial capital. Organised in cooperation with over 200 official media & show partners, the eighteenth consecutive edition of LPS has allowed the city’s elite property buyers to interact and mingle with the world’s most influential property experts. Held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre located in the heart of the city, LPS Shanghai 2018 showcased properties from all over the world: China, USA, Canada, UAE, Australia, France, UK, Italy, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and many more.

By building an impressive and luxurious marina town that offers waterfront residences, hotels, berths, golf and lifestyle facilities, Luštica Development team has become a valuable segment of Orascom Development Holding. The representatives of LD took part in the LP Shanghai Showcase as key speakers of the event. “This is the first presentation of Luštica Development Projects to the Chinese market. We had an opportunity to explain all about our latest developments and projects to the visitors of the fair,” announced the LD PR service.

08 December 2018 - Porto Montenegro was awarded recognition at this year’s prestigious regional CIJ Awards for Serbia and Southeast Europe, with successes across three categories: Best Lux Residential Development, Best Overall Residential Development, and Best Marketing & PR Campaign of the Year. Competing against some strong real estate candidates in the region, Porto Montenegro managed to secure the most significant and best-ranked nominations, as voted by a network of members and partners of CIJ, the CEE & SEE Europe’s Real Estate businesses.

The Porto Montenegro marina village features contemporary chic residences with architecture inspired by the Italian Riviera, ideally suited to the surroundings of the Bay of Kotor. The residences offer studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations and luxury penthouses, roof terraces and infinity pool podiums with spectacular views of one of the most beautiful bays in the world, as well as a stunning backdrop of Mount Lovćen. These are all factors that make Porto Montenegro one of the most prestigious addresses on the Montenegrin coast, with 290 completed residential units and a total of 410 anticipated in summer 2019, commented National PR Manager at Porto Montenegro, Kristina Skanata.

These awards serve as an acknowledgment to the investors, team of architects and interior designers, and all partner companies involved in the construction of the development. Above all, we are particularly proud to have received the award for the Best Marketing & PR Campaign of the Year. This tells us that we’ve succeeded in promoting a positive image of Porto Montenegro throughout the region, as well as promoting the Tivat Riviera and Montenegro as a destination, she added.

The third CIJ Awards Serbia/SEE took place in Belgrade this week at the Hyatt hotel with a multinational crowd on hand to cheer on the winners. The region has been the focus of an increasing level of investment into real estate, including industrial, retail and residential projects. The results of this wave of investment is now making itself felt in the country with increasing numbers of high-quality projects hitting the market, commented Robert Fletcher, General Manager of CIJ.

The CIJ Awards is a coveted annual awards ceremony for the real estate industry across South East Europe organized by CIJ EUROPE, the leading real estate news provider across North to South East Europe. CIJ EUROPE was founded in 1994.

Read more about the CIJ Awards Ceremony and Porto Montenegro here.  

06 December 2018 - In recent years, healthcare has become one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. The wellness and fitness industry is flourishing worldwide and these aspects of life are gaining popularity in Montenegro as well. According to research in this field, physical fitness (being fit), as a state of health and well-being, is achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest. Montenegrin citizens are slowly gaining more insight on the aspect that regular workout routine helps to counter the side-effects of hectic urban lifestyle, reduce stress, anxiety and depression and other diseases that negatively affect health.

Two women, who moved from abroad to Montenegro, recently launched an exciting project in Herceg Novi. Esma Cerinan Otović (28) and Sule Kadan Turkel (45) founded an association that brings together women of different profiles (age, profession, descent) but still linked by the desire to spend their free time healthily and beneficially.

As these two women entrepreneurs stated in an interview with local News Portal “Radio Jadran”, Fit Woman Montenegro is a community that is free and open to all women of Herceg Novi, Bay of Kotor and beyond, who see themselves in the “world of wellness and wellbeing”. The association has their door open for females who want to participate in various activities that contribute to making a person feel satisfied and healthy.

Esma Cerinan Otović explained that the Fit Woman Montenegro Society plans that every week, members of the association will gather at least two times, and she invited all interested women to join them if they want to. The planned activities include stretching and breathing exercises; recreational walks in different locations, visits to tourist and cultural sites, photo-trekking tours, indoor and outdoor sports activities, visits to ethno-villages and agricultural farms.

Fit Woman Montenegro represents a Wellness & Well-being Community for Women with the primary goal to encourage members to lead an active, social and healthy life.

"The membership to our community is free for all women. We want to encourage each other to lead an active, healthy, social life. Come and share your time with us, "they said from the Fit Woman Montenegro Association, inviting all interested to follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

December 5, 2018 - Johnny Depp will stay in Tivat in March of next year to film material for his new movie, announced the Municipality of Tivat Information Services.

President of the Tivat Municipality, Dr. Siniša Kusovac and his associates, held a meeting with Aleksandar Tadic, the Work in Progress / WIP Production director, about the possibility of shooting a new Johnny Depp movie at several locations in Tivat next year, the municipality said.

Johnny Depp will play a leading role in the film "Minamata." The primary production begins in Japan and will be filmed in January in Serbia. At the end of February, in early March, a film crew, including Johnny Depp, will shoot for two weeks in Tivat.

President Kusovac said that the interest of productions behind big film achievements is a significant opportunity for the global promotion of Tivat.

"We are interested in filming in Tivat, and so far it has been a practice to assist in administrative and booking and location arrangements. In that respect, we will provide maximum support," the Mayor said.

"We are looking for locations to film the American movie Minamata, in which Hollywood star Johnny Depp interprets the main role, and we are interested in taking part of the filming to the Ostrvo Cvijeća and the park of Zupa. We are ready to talk to all interested parties so that we can fully acknowledge it. We also want the Municipality of Tivat to be informed about it and to help us provide any license for filming. Tivat is fantastic, and even more interesting is its ambiance and nature. That is why we want some of the scenes meant to represent Japan to be filmed here," Tadic said.

Producer House WIP has worked on the films "November Man," "The Last Panthers," "The Raven," "Papillion" and many others in the previous years.

Johnny Depp plays the first war photographer of the newer era, Eugene Smith. After the Second World War, Smith begins working for Life magazine and reveals the poisoning of people from the Minamata factory in Japan. The director of the film is Andrew Levitas. Minamata is based on a joint book by Aileen Mioko Smith and Eugene Smith in the adaptation by David K. Kessler.

The celebrated days of the Second World War are far from Smith when his old friend, Life's editor Ralph Graves, is convinced to return to Japan to find a great story: devastating destruction of the coastal community by poisoning.

02 December 2018 - Tivat is one of the youngest cities in the Bay of Kotor, as well as on the Montenegrin coast. The city is situated in the central part of the Bay of Boka at the foot of Vrmac (710m) the spur of Mount Lovcen which extends to the north-west side of the town. At the opposite side is the Bay of Tivat which is the largest of four bays forming the Bay of Kotor. The Bay of Tivat with its exceptional beauty attracts every visitor.

There are 17 hotels in different parts of Tivat, but all of them are very close to the sea. There are small hotels with only twenty beds and large ones with about 300 beds. A lot of tourists chose private accommodation which is cheaper, and in many cases, there is no difference in quality comparing it with the hotel accommodation. Both private accommodation and hotels consist of apartments and nicely renovated rooms with their bathroom. Whatever you choose, you are in the right place, because visiting this city for your holiday will be the right decision.

Tourist organization of Tivat has recently published New Year’s Program within the city. As Total Montenegro News journalist explained, Željko Joksimović will entertain citizens of Tivat and their guests on New Year's Eve, and Lepa Brena and Bojan Delić will perform on 1 January, while Ana Kokić and the Tivat band "Toć" will perform on 2 January. The New Year’s program on the city promenade Pine will begin on 15 December when Tivat's caterers will set up recognizable gastro cottages, and the music program will start on 26 December. During the eight holiday days, there will be the concerts of Amadeus band, Ana Rucner, Leontina and guests, Boris Novkovic, La band Tambura night, The gents, Disko inferno, Tribute band ABBA. The rich fun-minded program will continue until January 10, 2019, with a variety of events and resident DJs.

If you decide to spend your New Year’s Eve somewhere along the Montenegrin coast, Tourist organization of Tivat has many propositions for your accommodation options.

If your choice is hotel accommodation, you can pick one of many hotels that are operational all year round, like Hotel Regent Porto Montenegro, Hotel La Roche, Hotel La Perla, Hotel Helada, Hotel Montenegrino, Hotel Astoria, Hotel Carrubba, Hotel Pine Hotel Magnolia, Hotel Palma, Hotel Franca, Hotel Villa Royal, Hotel San, Hotel Anderba or Hostel Anton. TO Tivat has presented all the amenities as well as the contact information of hotels, which you can find on the pictures. 

Read more information about accommodation in Tivat here.