According to unofficial data provided by local tourist organizations to the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro (NTOCG), 32,203 tourists were staying in Montenegro on April 17.
The NTOCG estimates that this figure represents a 7.36 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The majority of tourists are from neighboring countries, as well as Germany, Turkey, Israel, France and the United Kingdom.
Milena Vujović, a representative of the NTOCG, said that the organization continuously conducts surveys among tourism professionals to assess expectations and booking trends for the upcoming summer season.
At the beginning of April, a survey was conducted asking members of the tourism sector about their expectations. According to the results, 92.8 percent of respondents were satisfied with current booking trends, while 7.2 percent were not.
Vujović explained that the highest number of bookings are coming from the regional market, the UK, Germany, and France, and there is strong interest from Israel, Turkey, and China.
When comparing this year’s booking numbers with those from the previous year, 57 percent of respondents said the situation is about the same, while 17 percent believe that the outlook is better than last year and even better than in 2019.
She emphasized that good air connectivity is essential for a successful summer season.
According to data from Montenegro Airports, there will be strong connections with key markets such as the UK, France, and Germany. Tivat Airport will offer around 50 routes this season, with one of the most important new additions being the launch of flights between Tivat and Barcelona by low-cost Spanish airline Vueling starting on July 1. Podgorica Airport will have approximately 45 routes, including new connections to Prague, Brno, and Baku, along with charter flights to Cairo and Madrid.
To support improved air travel connections, the NTOCG is offering incentive measures.
This year as well, the organization has prepared incentives to encourage organized air arrivals through joint marketing campaigns with tour operators. In previous years, these measures helped strengthen cooperation with Jet2holidays, the largest UK tour operator. This partnership resulted in the launch of new flights from Birmingham and increased capacity on existing routes. It is estimated that the economic contribution of this campaign was about 2.7 million euros due to the large number of bookings made through the tour operator.
The NTOCG has also introduced new measures to support the growth of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism in Montenegro.
Two additional measures have been proposed and are awaiting approval. One is related to organizing study visits for tour operators and travel agencies from key markets, and the other focuses on partnerships for promoting Montenegro as a destination, which is expected to strengthen collaboration with international travel professionals.
Since the start of the year, the NTOCG has been active in promotional activities. The organization has taken part in tourism fairs in New York, Madrid, Riga, Ljubljana, Belgrade, Banja Luka and the major ITB Berlin tourism fair.
Preparations are underway for participation in the IMEX congress tourism fair in Frankfurt, as well as a tourism fair in Shanghai. As in the previous year, the largest portion of the promotional budget will be allocated to digital campaigns. One of the key initiatives is the ongoing campaign “Uncover your wild side,” which will be tailored for regional markets and primarily targets France, the UK, and Germany. Additional efforts are also being made to improve the quality of tourism services through the Integrated Destination Quality Management project and the introduction of the Montenegro Quality certification.
