Montenegro is an attractive tourist destination for tourists from the Middle East, and the air connection with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel contributes to this in particular.
As announced by the National Tourism Organization (NTO), which represents the Montenegrin tourist offer at the 30th Arpa Tourism Exchange ATM 2023 (Arabina Travel Market), it is a growing emission market from which more than 36 million tourist trips are made annually.
As the representative of NTO Aleksandra Maksimović said, these are mostly high-paying guests who travel often, on average more than three times a year, mostly for vacation and entertainment, and prefer a longer stay in the destination.
Precisely recognizing the potential of this market, and above all bearing in mind the liberalized visa regime and the establishment of new airlines from Riyadh, the National Tourist Organization of Montenegro, in addition to participating in this umbrella event for the promotion of tourism, is planning a series of promotional activities to meet this summer tourist season, as which are the organization of presentations in Saudi Arabia, as part of the road show campaign, as well as study visits by media, influencers and tour operators from this region – said Maksimović. As she stated, this year we have improved air connectivity with the Middle East.
Two airlines, Flynas and Flydeal, will establish flights from Riyadh, which will give us five weekly flights from Saudi Arabia. In addition, Jazeera Airways is introducing direct flights between Kuwait and Tivat, while we will be connected with Israel by charter flights through three airlines – explained Maksimović.
The representative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, Aleksandra Gardašević Slavuljica, expressed her great satisfaction at attending the ATM Tourism Exchange, because it is a prestigious event that connects the countries of the Gulf and the Middle East with Europe, but also with the rest of the world.
I can almost say that half of the planet Earth is present here, there are more than 150 countries, over 2,000 exhibitors. So the atmosphere is really extraordinary. The goal of our presence here is twofold, apart from connecting our destination with the Middle East and the world, there is also the promotion of our destination as an untouched diamond in Europe that has not yet been sufficiently explored – said Gardašević-Slavujica.
High-quality cooperation between the Middle East and Montenegro is already achieved through good tourist connections with Israel, and the Montenegrin coast will record a large number of visits from this market this season as well. This will be contributed by the airlines that will establish five to six flights a week between Israel and Montenegro this summer – announced the executive director of Eshter Tours Israel, David Vanunu.
The main reasons for this are the beauty of Montenegro, the possibility to go from the coast to the mountains, the food, the locals, the atmosphere, some of the best landscapes in the world. I think that every Israeli who comes to Montenegro will fall in love at first sight. We love Montenegro and we believe that we will continue to improve our cooperation – said Vanunu.
He mentioned that they aim to extend their cooperation to the winter tourist season, and that they really believe in all the potential of Montenegro as a tourist destination.
In Dubai itself, there is great interest in Montenegro, especially when it comes to adventure tourism.
Montenegro is a great destination for adventurous tourists and nature lovers. When I first visited it, I was surprised by the untouched beauty with all the rivers and waterfalls, destinations from the coast to the mountains.
I hope that in the future it will be much easier for people from Dubai to travel to Montenegro and enjoy themselves during the summer, and go skiing during the winter, because it is a destination that you should not miss – said Fadi Hachicho in front of NTO Ras Al Khaimah. The tourism industry of Montenegro sees the huge potential that the Middle East market hasforMontenegrin tourism.
The stand of Montenegro was well attended. There is great interest in our country, especially in eco and active tourism. We tried to present to them in the best possible way everything that Montenegro has to offer. We expect a larger number of tourists from the Middle East already from May. Given that these are high-paying guests, I believe that we can all feel the benefits of that – said Edin Hajdarpašić in front of the Gold Travel travel agency.
At the Montenegro stand, a cocktail party was held for the media, which was attended by representatives of twenty regional media specialized in tourism, representatives of airline companies that have routes to Montenegro, as well as representatives of the Embassy of Montenegro in the United Arab Emirates. On that occasion, a seven-day arrangement for two people, with included transfers and an excursion, was awarded as part of the prize game of the NTO CG in cooperation with the travel agencies Gold Travel and Excellent Travel Service.
Montenegro’s offer was presented by the Tourism Organization of Podgorica, strategic partners NTOCG HG Budvanska Riviera and Gold Travel agency, HG Montenegro Stars, Chedi Luštica Bay hotel, as well as travel agencies Excellent Travel Service and Montenegro Tourist Service.
