Tourism development strategy of Montenegro

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Тourism is of inestimable importance for Montenegro. It bears on every aspect of our society, our economic development, standard of living and the Montenegrin way of life. It creates jobs and brings economic prosperity. In cooperation with the German Development Finance Agency, the Deutsche Investitions- und
Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the Ministry of Tourism and Environment has set itself the task of charting the course of tourism development to protect the environment and maximize economic benefits for long-term sustainability. These efforts have resulted in the Masterplan of 2001. One single figure is enough to prove how successful this strategy has been. Estimates from the Central Bank tell us that total income from tourism has increased from 2001 to 2007 by 460%, or from €86 mil to €480 million. This underlines the attraction Montenegro’s tourism industry now holds for the markets and how valuable our nature resources are in economic terms. So tending to our landscape and nature is vital as a dictate of reason and not the outgrowth of some vague Romanticism. They are our basic capital. To harness this potential even more effectively and to maximize our strengths and eliminate weaknesses, the experts from DEG, the Ministry and the National Tourism Organization have spent a year critically reviewing what we have achieved and have updated the Master plan, with the prime concern being to link the hinterland with the coast to blend them into one, whole high-quality holiday experience. At the same time, we have already started to put verified findings into practice, among other things into the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, into the improvement of tourism and accompanying infrastructure, product enhancement and diversification, and in marketing. Creating a complex Montenegrin tourism product as an integrated whole consisting of the coast and the hinterland is seen as the best way to extend the season and give an impetus to developing the hinterland. Everyone involved shares a common vision of the core product based on the most valuable asset Montenegro possesses, reflected in the logo Wild Beauty! Our future product will bring scenery and nature, the diverse cultures that have shaped Montenegro and our way of life into closer alignment with the high quality standards of modern society. We shall also need additional, multifaceted hotel facilities of a high standard to improve our attractiveness for the whole year, to create more jobs and raise income in future. Commitment to sustainable development is not just a matter of respecting ethical principles. The values protected in this way - landscape, nature, culture and lifestyles - also make up the basic capital of the tourism industry. The more attractive they are as experiences for the market, the better the prospects of success for the whole industry and all allied sectors.

Under the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned the German Development Finance Agency, the Deutsche Infestations- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), in 2000 to draft an integrated Tourism Development Master plan in close cooperation with the Government of Montenegro, its authorities and experts. This was to make a contribution to sustained economic recovery, applying economic, ecological and social criteria. It was adopted by the government in November 2001. Among other things, the Masterplan recommended developing 5 regional strategies to highlight typical regional features and, with that, initiate the diversification of ‘Montenegro’ as an overall product. Two of these regional Masterplans were prepared by DEG, in cooperation with Montenegrin experts and the Ministry of Tourism, in 2003 – for Boka Kotorska and Velika Plaža at Ulcinj. The document set as its goal the creation of a sustainable, high quality and diverse tourism product to enable the growth of revenues and arrivals, at the same time generating new jobs and increasing the standards of living. It places emphasis on sustainability, so particularly important in tourism sector since Montenegrin tourism product needs to be based on exclusive natural and cultural attractions implying the natural surrounding and diverse historic and cultural heritage concentrated over a small area. The Masterplan offers realistic projections of growth in nights, arrivals and revenues identifying the need to implement short-term, medium-term and long-term measures as a precondition for attaining the set targets. In addition, the Masterplan offered a basis for annual economic policymaking over the previous period, through the Government’s Economic Policy Agenda 2002 to 2007 in the sector of tourism, utilities and transport, development of spatial plans, National Sustainable Development Strategy and a number of other documents. Five years into its implementation, analysing global trends in tourism, and the progress made in the region and in Montenegro in particular, with a view of the intensive changes in the sector and in line with the practice of conducting analysis and revisions of strategic documents in five-year intervals, the conditions were in place to review and amend the Tourism Masterplan and update the Tourism Development Strategy to 2020. The intention of the Government and the Ministry was to draft these documents of strategic importance as forward looking and realistic as possible. Hence, at the request of the Ministry, and as supported by the German Federal Government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Society for Technical Cooperation – GTZ) and DEG, the team of foreign experts headed by Mr Johann Friedrich Engel was commissioned for the task, with active involvement of the state and local-level institutions directly or indirectly influencing or involved
in tourism development. The involvement of the civil society showing as of late strong initiative and results in the sectors of tourism and environment was of no lesser importance. Finally, the private sector in tourism, banking, construction, transport, agriculture and trade was fully involved in joint efforts as being instrumental in shaping the framework for future operation.

By 2020, Montenegro will have become a destination with all-year-round tourism,with picturesque landscapes and protected biodiversity. It will have preserved its heritage and cherished its tradition, shaped by three major cultures. Montenegro cherishes its multi-ethnicity. Its brand name and statement “Montenegro – Wild Beauty” is not only justified by offering its visitors a look of the unmatched pristine nature. It equally offers diversity and high quality aimed to meet the demands of each individual visitor. Montenegro boasts diverse high quality hotels, resorts and other accommodation facilities. They are all internationally competitive and specialized in their target niche in line with the prevailing market trends. They meet all the demands to appeal to the target groups all year round. Apart from remarkable beaches, Montenegro is known for its unique national parks and nature parks, and an extensive network of panoramic roads for visitors coming by cars and a network of wilderness hiking and biking trails. This network covers the whole country offering to visitors a unique experience and offers to the local population the opportunities for additional income generation. As for nature tourism, Montenegro will have managed to become the leader in the Mediterranean, with a positive impact on extending the season. The sophisticated nautical, health and wellness facilities, winter sports and golf entice high-yield guests and strengthen its international reputation. The diversified products, high standards, training and services quality, offered at still competitive prices will have greatly increased employment, personal income and living standards. At the same time, the strategy of consistent quality will have reduced the strain in July and August. Montenegro will have become oriented towards up-scale markets with strictly protected natural and cultural features guaranteeing the appeal of the country in future and the preservation of resources for future generations. For a while already the supply and waste infrastructure will have been aligned with EU standards, and tourism will have constantly been strengthening its standing as a generator of jobs and taxes, stimulating most other sectors of Montenegrin economy.

The strategy of sustainable quality tourism pursues two prime objectives of equal importance! 1. Prosperity for the citizens: To accomplish this socio-economic goal, six preconditions must be met. Income from tourism will have to increase in level with the usual standards • of pay in the EU Mediterranean countries. With a view to capacity bottlenecks on the beaches, turnover will have to be raised less via an increased number of guests and more through higher daily spending and the all-year use of as many products as possible. This calls for continuous quality improvement combined with broad diversification
• As many full-time jobs and extra income opportunities as possible must be created, both directly in and indirectly through tourism. Accordingly, priority must be attached to labour-intensive product segments (hotel trade, gastronomy, entertainment, special services) as the main development levers. As a service industry, tourism is labour-intensive sector whose success is closely linked with the available human resources (quantity and quality wise) who are required to hold considerable professional and social skills. In line with development projections in the tourism sector, the Government has adopted the Development Strategy for Human Resources in Tourism Sector, aiming in particular to introduce a higher level of professionalism and improve coordination of all relevant institutions in the area of human resources development needed to support the tourism development over the coming period.
• All-year products are needed: properly equipped holiday resorts and networked public leisure amenities at the coast and in the hinterland. This requirement is all the more important as two climatic obstacles stand in the way. The the coastal region of Montenegro enjoys_240 days of sunshine. In the lower altitudes of the expandable winter sports areas of Durmitor and Bjelasica, Prokletije, Hajla, Vučje, with a view of climate change, it is uncertain whether in the medium and long term there will be enough snow cover and it is almost impossible to schedule operation. So at the coast and in the mountains, products that are independent of the weather will have to be created and they must be internationally competitive, difficult to replicate and hence timeless.
• The all-year capacity must be large and attractive enough to make low-cost flight connections from the main source markets worthwhile.
• All guests must be satisfied, because the satisfied guest makes up the key link in the whole marketing chain. This calls for aligning all products consistently with the market and specifically catering for individual holiday preferences regardless of which region the guests come from, what type of accommodation they choose and what facilities they use.
• Montenegro must extend its unique selling point (USP). Only the ‘wild beauty’ of its landscapes
and nature will help it to gain an outstanding position compared with Mediterranean rivals. So landscapes, climate, fauna and flora are of inestimable economic value. To ensure the present and future success of the tourism sector, these resources need to be preserved, but they also have to be enlarged and presented.
242. Sustainable development: The all-embracing principle of sustainability is not just important for ecological and social reasons. Its principles are intended to safeguard all the assets of the tourism sector and make ‘Wild Beauty’ a core product of the destination brand. The sustainability priority also affects many sectors. It requires an efficient infrastructure; the government has recently decided on the necessary investments. Moreover, sustainability also requires a set of rules that apply for all economic activities and walks of life and everyone must pay heed to these. Sustainability is based on general environmental awareness. Unregulated garbage dumps in the open landscape, illegal bird-hunting in RAMSAR areas, tree-felling in national parks, etc. must be proscribed and prosecuted, as in all countries in the European Union.

Source: Ministry of Tourism of Republic of Montenegro