Montenegro could attract tourists throughout the year by combining its coast, mountains, culture and gastronomy, but new accommodation must be matched by infrastructure, environmental protection and demand, Maldives tourism state minister Dr Abdulla Niyaz said. Tourism accounts for an estimated 25% to 30% of Montenegro’s GDP and more than half its exports, making the balance between growth and capacity consequential for the wider economy.
Niyaz, state minister in the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, spoke at the Europe–Asia High-Level Interregional Forum, organised by Montenegro’s Ministry of Tourism and UN Tourism. His recommendations drew on the Maldives’ experience of expanding tourism accommodation and air links while serving visitors to an island destination.
Montenegro’s advantage is the range of experiences available within a short journey: visitors can reach the coast, mountains, cultural and historic sites, and different food offerings within a few hours’ drive. A morning in the Bay of Kotor followed by an afternoon in the mountains could be especially attractive in spring and autumn. That range gives the country options beyond a summer holiday centred on the coast, provided its tourism offer gives visitors reasons to travel at other times.
Growth beyond the coast
Tourism activity remains heavily concentrated by place and season. About 95% of private accommodation overnight stays in Montenegro are on the coast, while Tivat Airport handles more than 80% of its passengers between May and September. Those figures underline the challenge for businesses seeking to operate outside the busiest months, as well as the potential market for experiences away from coastal areas.
Mountain tourism, hiking, gastronomy, cultural heritage, wellness and outdoor activities could support visits in spring, autumn and winter, when the coast is quieter. Nature-based and adventure tourism offer further ways to broaden the product. Developing activities that encourage visitors to stay longer and explore more places would also help Montenegro seek greater economic benefit from each arrival while preserving the natural and cultural features that draw them.
Adding places to stay, however, should follow the capacity of the services on which they depend. New accommodation needs adequate water supply, electricity, waste management, transport connections and trained workers, alongside demand throughout the year. Infrastructure and environmental limits can be reached faster than expected in a small country, making the scale and timing of expansion as important as the number of rooms.
Niyaz warned against pursuing larger visitor numbers faster than infrastructure and the environment can support. His proposed approach links accommodation decisions to utilities, transport and the protection of the destination’s natural and cultural assets. It also requires businesses and tourism planners to consider whether newly built capacity can attract guests beyond the peak season, rather than relying only on the months when coastal demand is strongest.
Year-round promotion is another part of that approach. Campaigns should not be concentrated in summer; they should also target source markets with potential for travel outside the main season. Competitive prices, seasonal packages and coordinated marketing could strengthen demand in quieter periods, particularly when backed by accommodation and activities that remain available to visitors.
Maldives accommodation model
The Maldives welcomed a record 2.25 million visitors in 2025, almost 10% more than the previous year. Tourism directly contributes more than one-fifth of its GDP and brings in almost half of government tax revenue. The sector therefore affects both the country’s economic output and its public finances, as well as the businesses that serve visitors.
Over more than 50 years, the Maldives built an international reputation around its islands, ocean and hospitality. Its accommodation offer later expanded beyond the “one island, one resort” model to include private stays on inhabited islands. That change created opportunities for local entrepreneurs that large hotel complexes alone could not provide, broadening the range of businesses able to participate in tourism.
More than 900 registered private accommodation establishments now operate on inhabited Maldivian islands. They account for approximately a quarter of total accommodation capacity, while roughly one in five visitors chooses a private stay. Those figures show how accommodation outside resorts has become part of the visitor market, without removing the need to match growth with transport, services and the characteristics of the destination.
For Montenegro, the immediate issue is different: private accommodation nights are concentrated on the coast, and passenger flows through Tivat are concentrated between May and September. Expanding the offer into other regions or seasons would require reasons for visitors to make those trips, along with the workers and infrastructure to serve them. The objective set out by Niyaz is greater economic benefit per visitor, not simply a higher visitor count.
Air routes and demand
Air access is central to the Maldivian tourism model because almost every visitor arrives by plane. Airport capacity, efficient passenger services and reliable transport to a final destination must develop in step with demand. Seaplanes, domestic flights and speedboats form part of the visitor journey alongside the airport itself, connecting arrivals with the places where they stay.
A new terminal at Velana International Airport opened in July 2025 after an investment worth almost 800 million US dollars. It raised annual airport capacity from 1.5 million to 7.5 million passengers. The Maldives is connected to 36 destinations by 34 international airlines, illustrating the scale of the air network serving its tourism industry.
For Montenegro, the recommended first step is a data-based air-connectivity plan agreed with relevant partners. It would identify priority source markets, examine passenger flows and gaps in existing links, and determine which potential routes have the strongest basis for sustainable demand. Airport development and new services would be planned together with accommodation, destination promotion and improvements to the visitor offer, rather than as separate projects.
Montenegro’s airports in Podgorica and Tivat together handled about two million passengers in the first seven months of 2026. Podgorica Airport recorded passenger-traffic growth of more than 50% in July 2026. Those figures provide context for route planning, but lasting connections outside summer would also depend on whether travellers can find places to stay and things to do when they arrive.
Where a commercial case exists, time-limited incentives, joint marketing and airline partnerships could help establish new routes. Any incentives should be transparent, tied to results and gradually withdrawn when a service becomes commercially sustainable. Temporary financial support can assist a route at the outset, but stable demand matters more to its longer-term operation.
Airports could make year-round routes more attractive to carriers by sharing passenger data and market knowledge, supporting route development and maintaining competitive operating conditions. Cooperation with tourism organisations and businesses would help present the case for a connection. Hotels and tour operators are part of that effort: airlines may struggle to sustain flights if accommodation closes outside summer or the available visitor activities are limited.
The Maldives draws travellers from different parts of the world at different times of year, helping moderate seasonal fluctuations. For Montenegro, continuous promotion aimed at suitable off-season markets would need to work alongside seasonal packages and activities that give people reasons to visit for longer. Airlines will keep operating routes when demand is sufficient; building that demand outside the main season remains the test for any proposed year-round connection.
