In an interview with CdM, Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, says he believes this would be Montenegro’s best year yet. Mr Radulović called in mind that for the first time in the history, Montenegro generated revenues from tourism of over EUR 1 billion last year, that is, EUR 1.039 billion. He expects this would be the minimum revenues the state is going to collect every year. Mr Radulović claims Montenegro is steadily moving towards becoming a high-end tourism destination. Commenting on the arrangement of promenades in Budva, he made a point of being clear about it – if the state wants to attract more guests to 4 or 5-star hotels, it has to offer something much better than hamburgers or noise around the whole city.
He also notes that Montenegro is going to generate large profit from citizenship from investment programs, as hundreds of millions of euros would pour into Montenegro, i.e. over EUR 200 million directly into the state budget.
CdM: Will 2019 be the record-breaking year in the field of tourism and how much revenue do you expect?
Radulović:The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) placed Montenegro on the list of the fastest growing tourism destinations in 2017. They envisaged that tourism industry in Montenegro would have a stable and continuous growth over the next 10 years. The last year’s figures confirmed their predictions: we had a record-breaking tourism season with over 2.2 million visitors and nearly 13 million overnight stays. Tourist arrivals increased by 10% as well as the overnights (over 8%) compared to 2017.
Genuine commitment and well planned activities of all parties, combined with the natural beauties of our country must give good results, and that’s not a coincidence. We have increased the number of accommodation capacities and improved their quality. Twenty five new hotels were opened in 2018, 15 of them are 4-star or 5-star hotels. The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism (MORiT) took part in many tourism fairs and we noted strong interest of tourists and tour operators. Introduction of new flight routes has also been announced. Last year, for the first time in the history, we generated over EUR 1 billion from tourism, that is, EUR 1.039 billion, and I expect to collect even more revenues every single year. One cannot influence nature or weather, but all the other aspects we can influence encourage us to believe that 2019 will be Montenegro’s best year yet.
CdM: Does Montenegro represent a high-end destination? What is it that we lack in order to become even more prestigious tourist destination?
Radulović: The fact that over half of the total accommodation capacities in luxury hotels has already been booked, gives us the right to say we are steadily moving towards becoming a high-end tourism destination. In 2017-18, thirty five luxury hotels were opened, while Montenegro currently has 19 five-star hotels and 152 four-star hotels. Only 12 years ago, i.e. in 2006, there had only 2 five-star hotels and 29 four-star hotels.
Not many countries from the region can tell they have so many worlds’ top hotel brands as Montenegro has. Hilton, Aman, Regent, Four Points by Sheraton, Chedi, Melia, Iberostar, Falkensteiner and Europe’s first One & Only luxury resort show that Montenegro has enormous capacities to become a high-end tourism destination. Our progress is obvious and we’re pleased to note that more and more investors recognize they should invest in hotels. Even though we must improve a lot, there’s an obvious progress in the tourism offer for high-yield guests. It’s not enough just to have a 5-star hotel but to provide unforgettable experience for our guests so that they are ready to pay for it. We also need clear space and quality infrastructure, as well as kindness and some order.
CdM: Can you tell that Budva really is the metropolis of Montenegrin tourism if you have in mind that there are a lot of temporary buildings, promenades poorly arranged, bad taxi service (often robberies and beating of guests)?
Radulović: Under the adopted Temporary Facility Plan, we erased a significant number of sites envisaged for temporary facilities. There were many different opinions on this matter but this was not something that could meet the requirements of the tourism industry in a long run. We expect these sites to be arranged soon, especially the area near the promenade, as there are many 4- and 5-star hotels currently being built on this locality.
If we want to attract guests to stay in these hotels, we must offer them something much better than hamburgers or noise around the promenade. I have already announced that we will soon start to design a completely new, Mediterranean-style promenade from Avala Hotel to Zavala, and it’s up to the municipal authorities to deal with some challenges they have been struggling with for years. The inter-institutional collaboration is quite good and combating grey economy will remain one of our top priorities. There’s a lot of work to be done but I believe Budva will be ready for the upcoming summer season and guests will be satisfied with its offer.
CdM: Montenegro opened Chapter 27. How will the Government of Montenegro ensure money for this Chapter? What will be the most difficult job in this process having in mind our responsibilities in the area of environment?
Radulović: Based on the current estimations, we should invest around EUR 1.43 million in the area of environment by 2035. Therefore, this is not the money we must invest immediately, but we should do it in a systematic way through stage-investing in order not to overburden the budget. The investments will include the construction of the new and maintenance of the existing ecological infrastructure, as well as the elimination of air pollution effects and degradation of natural resources. IPA funds, donations, favorable loan arrangements and Eco Fund will be main sources of funding, beside the state and municipal budgets.
It’s important to mention that once Montenegro enters the European Union (EU), the available funds will be considerably increased as we will be able to use the European structural funds as well. This whole process is going to be quite challenging and we plan to continue with the intensive activities in order to be able to solve many open issues in this area. The construction of the wastewater treatment facility and infrastructure in the area of management of the wastewater system, as well as the remediation of industrial pollution will remain our priority in the following period.
It’s also very important to further develop professional capacities at the state and local level so that the acquis communautaire is properly implemented.
One of the greatest challenges would be to raise awareness of the citizens on the importance of protection of the environment, especially waste management. Raising environmental awareness is often a long and demanding process, but I believe we all love our country and that we can do it. I’m glad to hear that today we’re speaking of reduced use of plastic bags, recycling and solid waste separation, but we still have landfill sites not designated for dumping waste. The environment represents our main resource and it’s something we are leaving to future generations which means we all should equally take care of it.
CdM: What were the findings of the MORiT’s inspection regarding the church on Rumija? Is it going to be ruined?
Radulović: The inspection came out to the site and noted that some construction works hadn’t been performed in accordance with the Law. The stone covering was removed afterwards by the party itself. As previously mentioned, the relevant inspection will be acting in accordance with its authorizations.
CdM: Can Montenegro profit from the citizenship by investment programme?
Radulović: Montenegro will gain some considerable benefits from the citizenship by investment program. According to our plan, hundreds of millions of euros would pour into Montenegro, that is, over EUR 200 million directly into the state budget. And here I don’t mean on taxes on real estate purchased afterwards or income taxes generated from this real estate or companies that investors are to establish in Montenegro.
So this will bring substantial benefits for our country as there would be opportunities for new large investments and businesses. This program has already positioned Montenegro on the list of the world’s hottest investment destinations. Therefore, this has greatly contributed to the country’s promotion as well.
In addition, every project must meet certain criteria, i.e. the scope of the investment and the number of new jobs. The minimum number of employees on projects in the north of Montenegro is 25, and for projects on the coast and in Podgorica – 80. These are just the direct new jobs, and we believe that the development of new projects will create new jobs in associated activities.
Miraš Dušević
