Nemanja Kostić, director of Karisma Hotels and Resorts for Eastern Europe, stated that Montenegro has demonstrated the capacity to support large projects over the past decade. For this reason, Karisma Hotels and Resorts, together with Dobrov & Family Group, is investing in a major tourist development on the Adriatic coast: a hotel-residential complex in Ulcinj expected to create 800 jobs and generate an economic impact of €278 million.
Kostić highlighted Montenegro’s key advantage as an untapped market with potential for sustainable and strategic growth, offering an authentic destination rich in historical, cultural, and natural beauty.
Despite its attractions, Montenegro is not yet sufficiently positioned in major source markets. Challenges include the need to improve and diversify the overall tourism product. While progress has been made in some areas, Montenegro still lags behind regional and leading European destinations in others.
The project aims to catalyze further development and help position Montenegro as a luxury Mediterranean destination. This will require infrastructure development, especially in air transport.
Kostić pointed out that the seasonality of tourism limits year-round revenue from hotel operations. The condo (kondo) model used in the project not only helps amortize investments during development but also diversifies income through year-round hotel operations, making Montenegro more attractive for tourism investments. This model supports project sustainability and the broader development of the destination by attracting guests, talent, brands, and further investment.
He emphasized the importance of stable investment conditions, liberal tax policies, developed infrastructure, and a robust financial market for economic growth. He expects airport infrastructure to improve soon, enhancing accessibility.
While progress is being made in local infrastructure, Montenegro’s financial market currently lacks diverse instruments beyond commercial banks and a limited state development fund. Kostić suggested learning from neighboring Croatia’s successful use of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to support large projects.
Montenegro has a solid workforce base in tourism, hospitality, and construction, which supports project implementation. However, given the complexity and high standards of such investments, further development of specialized skills would enhance the competitiveness of the local labor force.
