{"id":83354,"date":"2014-06-22T09:13:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T08:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visit-ulcinj.com\/blog\/?p=83354"},"modified":"2014-06-22T09:13:15","modified_gmt":"2014-06-22T08:13:15","slug":"floods-ukraine-crisis-threaten-montenegro-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visit-ulcinj.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/22\/floods-ukraine-crisis-threaten-montenegro-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Floods and Ukraine Crisis Threaten Montenegro Tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Saranda_Beach-Ulcinj-Motenegro\"<\/a>Montenegro’s tourism authorities have expressed concerns that the recent floods in the region and the crisis in Ukraine could reduce much-needed income from holidaymakers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Travel agencies, hotels and private accommodation have already recorded a decline in the number of tourists compared to the same period last year, the Montenegrin National Tourist Organization announced on Monday.<\/p>\n

It said that there are currently 15 per cent fewer tourists in the country than in 2013.
\nThe organization\u2019s director, Sasa Radovic, warned that action was needed to boost numbers.<\/p>\n

“We need further engagement in order to retained the number of tourists with those markets during the summer holiday season at last year’s level,” Radovic said.<\/p>\n

Government data from April showed that Montenegro was visited by 1.5 million tourists in 2013\u00a0 and income from tourism was 721 million euro.<\/p>\n

However according to a report issued in May by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Montenegro may suffer a significant drop in the number of Russian tourists .
\nRussians make up about 35 per cent of the total number of tourists who visit Montenegro and the country is considered to be the preferred destination of Russian oligarchs.<\/p>\n

In 2013, there about 300,000 Russian tourists visited Montenegrin coastal towns, and according to local surveys, more than 40 per cent of real estate in Montenegro belongs to Russians.<\/p>\n

But relations between Montenegro and Russia have cooled after Podgorica joined EU sanctions against Moscow over the annexation of Crimea.<\/p>\n

However the tourism authorities in Montenegro believe that the holiday season can still be saved.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Montenegrin National Tourist Organization made a presentation in the Belarussian capital Minsk, and said that it expects 30,000 guests from the ex-Soviet state.<\/p>\n

The national air carrier, Montenegro Airlines, has recorded a rise in passengers from Russia by 15 per cent after it opened as the new charter flights to the Soviet republics, as well as new routes to Bosnia and Herzegovina and western Europe.<\/p>\n

Expectations are also high over a soon-to-be-opened luxury tourist complex in Tivat.<\/p>\n

\"WELCOME-TO-ULCINJ\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The new five-star waterfront Hotel Regent Montenegro is scheduled to open at the end of June at a luxury marina called Porto Montenegro.<\/p>\n

It has also been announced that over the next three months, about 360 luxury cruise ships will dock at Boka bay on the country\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

The port of Kotor said on Thursday that it expects revenue of around two million euro from cruise tourism.<\/p>\n

Source: Balkaninsight<\/strong><\/p>\n