Montenegro visitor numbers hit record levels by all parameters, including over one million overnights in hotels, more than half a billion revenues from travel for the first seven months and €13.5 million of assigned budget revenues at the state and local level, writes Dnevne Novine daily.
In an interview for this daily, director of the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, Ms Željka Radak Kukavičić, confirms positive estimations regarding success of the tourism industry this year.
“Having in mind that we generated more than €1 billion of revenues from tourism last year, and that the interest in Montenegro as a tourism destination is on the rise, we believe this year will be record-breaking as well.”
Ms Radak Kukavičić also indicated that Montenegro has been developing and thus becoming a high-end tourism destination that “cannot be imagined without a quality tourism infrastructure and high-category hotel capacities.”
“Famous hotel brands such as Hilton, Aman, Regent, Four Points by Sheraton, H Hotels, Chedi, Melia, Iberostar, Falkensteiner, the first One & Only in Europe and announced Ritz Carlton , have recognized Montenegro as a favorable investment and tourism destination. The presence of such hotels is significant because they include all amenities that meet criteria of a modern guest and promise high occupancy rate throughout the year, and therefore the largest revenues,” concluded the Director of NTO.
When asked about data on arrivals and overnights from the beginning of 2018, she said: “According to data of the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), the total number of registered arrivals that refer to collective accommodation for the first nine months of 2019 was around 1.1 million, which is by around 153,000 more compared to the same period last year, while the number of overnight stays was almost 4.2 million, which is by 362,000 more compared to last year’s season.”
On the latest data concerning collected taxes, Ms Radak Kukavičić told: “According to data of the Central Bank of Montenegro, the revenues from travels, i.e. from foreign arrivals amounted to €532 million in the first seven months of 2019, which represents a 4.2% growth compared to the same period last year.
Only from collected city tax in the first nine months of the year, the revenues amounted to around €9.1 million, which is by around €1.6 million more compared to the same period last year. The total assigned revenues belonging to the budget of Montenegro, local tourism organizations and local self-governments, which include revenues from city taxes, membership fee and tourist tax, were collected in the amount of approximately €13.5 million from the beginning of the year to the end of October, which is by €2.1 million more when compared to the same period in 2018.”
As for the forthcoming activities regarding the promotion of our tourism offer, she said: “After the successful summer tourism season, the NTO has already started promotional activities for the 2019/20 season, which we are implementing in cooperation with local tourism organizations and the tourism industry.“