Dijana Pelinković from the “Ada Bojana” Association stated that a beach with the same area as in 2019, with no expansion of either the beach or the building, paid a tax of €10,900 in 2019. However, the current year’s tax is €46,000.
She spoke on the morning program Budilnik on Televizija E, explaining that a new announced tender for the lease of beaches and temporary structures in the Coastal Zone has already been announced for some municipalities.
Pelinković added that the people of Ulcinj claim to be the most affected by this situation, and they all agree that the tender is harmful and illegitimate. They believe it will only harm tourism and the tourist season, and a protest has already been organized in Ulcinj.
Tourism is declining year after year, and they believe this tender will hit Montenegro’s tourism hardest, especially since Ulcinj relies on tourism, which is the only economic activity in the city. The association has support from local citizens and not only from their municipality but also from other coastal municipalities. There is a plan B for further actions, though Pelinković sincerely hopes it won’t come to that. She hopes the authorities will reconsider the tender, acknowledging that it is non-transparent and harmful, especially because of the prices. Ulcinj, a tourist city, could be a hub for Montenegro’s tourism, but tourism has been fading over the years, and Pelinković sees this as the greatest blow to the sector.
Pelinković believes Montenegro is becoming a transit zone, but this wouldn’t be a problem if the country weren’t focused on tourism.
Ulcinj is the poorest coastal municipality, and this decision is a major blow to the town. The city doesn’t attract high-paying tourists or elite tourism, and it lacks the infrastructure to do so. Pelinković emphasized that Ulcinj has been neglected, with little investment in the area. She followed how much the budget allocated for Ulcinj in the past year, and even less is planned for this year. She is perplexed by the intentions behind these decisions and wonders if the goal is to destroy tourism.
Pelinković believes that the decision on the tender was poorly thought out and non-transparent, and when such decisions are made, municipal representatives should be involved. Each municipality knows best what its needs are and how to approach them. She is confident that this will affect not only tourism but also local businesses. She doesn’t understand why there has been such a significant increase in prices. The association wants to open a dialogue to ensure that the prices are in line with the reality of Ulcinj’s region. The people of Ulcinj argue that they are the most affected because Ulcinj holds the largest portion of the Coastal Zone, 57 percent.
Pelinković emphasized that taxes are already high and reminded that authorities have claimed the prices have not been raised since 2019.
She gave the example of one beach she had looked into, which has the same size as in 2019, with no expansion of the beach or the building. In 2019, the tax was €10,900, but this year, the tax amounts to €46,000.
