More than 19,000 tourists stayed in hotels in Podgorica in June, which is 11 percent more than the previous year in the same period. However, tourists do not stay long because there is a lack of quality content, according to Mirza Krnić.
The construction of congress halls, fairgrounds and five-star business hotels is also necessary, in order to create the conditions for holding important world congresses and numerous fairs in Podgorica, according to the opinion of the director of the Tourism Organization of the Capital City.
According to Rogošić, they still do not have official information on the number of tourists in July, and in June there were three percent more tourists than in the record year of 2019.
– 35,383 overnight stays were achieved, which is three percent more compared to June of the previous year, and even 13 percent more compared to June 2019 – adds Rogošić.
– In June, approximately as many tourists came to Herceg Novi as in Podgorica, 20,042 guests to be exact. However, the number of overnight stays was three times higher, i.e. 104,861 overnight stays were achieved. So, on average, a guest stays in Podgorica for less than two days, and in Herceg Novi for more than five – explains Krnić.
Although he points out that Podgorica can hardly “threaten” Herceg Novi, the gap could be significantly smaller. He adds that if a tourist were to stay just one day longer in the capital and spend, in addition to accommodation, about 100 euros, it would bring additional income to the local economy in the amount of two million euros.
However, in order for tourists to have a place to stay, Krnić points out, quality content is needed. He understands that the new local government could not do much in the short term. Nevertheless, Krnić believes, she could have placed signs in as many locations as possible.
The director of TO Podgorica, Irena Rogošić, agrees that the capital city needs such features.
However, such a project, adds Rogošić, requires the creation of a scheme, which would first of all have to contain precisely determined locations.
– Also, the design of the boards themselves must not deviate much from the existing ones. It is also necessary to draw up a financial plan – said Rogošić.
He states that the tourism organization has started the procedure with the competent city services and that he hopes that the project will be realized soon.
Considering that Podgorica is a MICE destination, i.e. a city suitable for the development of business tourism, the construction of congress halls and fair space is necessary, according to Rogošić.
– It is necessary to build five-star business hotels, which would have more conference rooms, because we only have four such hotels in Podgorica – explains Rogošić.
