This week, the National Tourism Organization (NTO) presented Montenegro’s tourism offer to the Saudi Arabian market, as part of a roadshow campaign, in Jeddah and Riyadh.
NTO said that the roadshow was organized in cooperation with the airline company Flynas, which has seasonal flights on the Riyadh-Podgorica route, in the period from July 1st to August 31st.
Anisa Murić, adviser to the director of the NTO, said that they have carried out a series of activities related to the promotion of Montenegro’s tourist offer on the market of the Middle East.
“Keeping in mind the expansion of existing and the opening of new airlines, in order to increase tourist traffic and achieve cooperation with partners from Saudi Arabia, we organized business workshops in Jeddah and Riyadh, attended by over 100 tour operators and travel agents. We are pleased that the interest in Montenegro is really great and that the representatives of the Montenegrin tourism industry had the opportunity to hold a series of meetings, and we expect the establishment of cooperation”, stated Murić.
After successfully organizing workshops in Riyadh and Jeddah, she announced the continuation of promotional activities.
The Director General of the Directorate for Development Policies in the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, Aleksandra Gardašević Slavuljica, gave a presentation on connecting tourist destinations.
She announced that the Montenegrin delegation met with representatives of the top management of the airlines Flynas and Flyadeal, which are planning flights to Montenegro.
“The tourism economy of Saudi Arabia is also present, so expectations are high and we are sure that Montenegro will be the destination of choice for travelers from that market. Our focus is not only Saudi Arabia but the Middle East market. We carry out promotion through various channels on the market of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and other countries,” said Gardašević Slavujica.
She added that it is a high-paying market and that they expect tourists from those markets to visit Montenegro and extend their stay, because Montenegro really has something to offer.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Montenegro in the UAE, Mladen Bojanić, supported the promotion of Montenegro as a tourist destination, thanked the airlines Flynas and Flyadeal for establishing direct airline routes and announced the expansion of overall economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
He said that after the meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia, he is even more convinced that economic cooperation with that country will quickly expand to other areas of the economy.
The representative of the Rwafi Al-Ahlam tourist agency, Hossam Nada, believes that Montenegro is a wonderful place that everyone who has the opportunity should visit, because it has a wonderful coast and great beaches.
“We recommend our clients to visit Montenegro and we believe that a large number of them will visit it in the coming years”, said Nada.
Abdullah M. Kashmiri in front of the Sky holding company has already visited Montenegro, specifically Budva, Kotor and Herceg Novi, during water polo camps.
“Then I was fascinated by the way of life of the locals, who go to the gym, fish and dive. I hope that everyone will have the opportunity to visit Montenegro and see the beauty of nature and way of life”, said Kashmiri.
The NTO said that tour operators are very interested in including Montenegro in their programs, and that they are very pleased to get to know the tourist offer of Montenegro.
“This is the first time that Montenegro is presenting itself in Saudi Arabia, in order to promote its beauty. When we talk about Montenegro here, we are talking about untouched nature and a rich offer”, said the representative of tour operator Alga travel, Sheik Nazeer.
The event was attended by representatives of the airline company Flynas, and in addition to them, the airline company Flyadeal will have a seasonal flight to Montenegro, which will start its flights for the first time from June 24th to September 7th.
The representative of Flynus, Abdulrahman Abubakar Tajuddin, said that flights from Riyadh to Montenegro will be realized three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The director of the Tourist Organization (TO) Podgorica, Irena Rogošić, stated that with the introduction of a direct line between Riyadh and Podgorica, Podgorica has seen an increase in the number of tourists.
“Podgorica dominantly belongs to the MICE destination category and represents an excellent environment for business opportunities and opportunities. The focus of our presentation, in addition to sports, cultural and shopping tourism, will also be a rich gastronomic and wine offer”, said Rogošić.
The representative of the Gold travel travel agency, Enis Cikotić, announced that the response was very good and that Saudi Arabia recognized the opportunities offered by Montenegro.
According to him, every year, Montenegro will be more and more popular among guests from Saudi Arabia, and more and more visited.
The representative of HG Budvanska Riviera, Marko Andrić, stated that a large number of tourists from Saudi Arabia is expected with the establishment of air lines on the route Riyadh-Podgorica and Riyadh-Tivat.
“Here we had many meetings with tour operators and travel agents who showed great interest in Montenegro. I can say with pleasure that we have opened another market that finds our destination very interesting”, said Andrić.
