Montenegro hosted more tourists this year than it did in 2011, with Serbs and Russians topping the list of visitors.
Over the first seven months in 2012, Montenegro was visited by 4.6 per cent more people than in the same period in the previous year, while overnight stays were up by 6.1 per cent, the Ministry for Sustainable Development and Tourism said.

“In 2011, the revenues from tourism were 671 million euro. Our estimates are that this year they will be 3 per cent larger,” the Ministry added.

In July, the peak of the tourist season, Montenegro had 2.7 per cent more guests than in the same month last year, Montenegro’s Statistical Office stated on Tuesday.

The most numerous guests were from Serbia, which suppled over a third of them. Russia came next, on around 20 per cent.

The month of June saw the biggest leap in numbers compared to last year. That month, visitor numbers were up by 13 per cent on 2011.

Apart from Serbia and Russia, many guests came from other neighbouring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia.

The southernmost town of Ulcinj, close to Albania, holds the seasonal record. The number of visitors last Friday was three times larger than in the same day last year.

At the beginning of the year, the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted that Montenegro will be one of the world’s fastest growing travel and tourism destinations.

Milena Milosevic
BIRN