Among tourists from Israel, there is a great interest in Montenegro, and the air connection between the two countries contributes to this in particular. This year, as many as three companies will have charter flights between Israel and Montenegro, and as announced by the national airline Air Montenegro, they will fly to Tel Aviv three to five times a week in the period from April to October.
The National Tourism Organization of Montenegro presented its tourist offer at the 29th International Tourism Fair IMTM in Tel Aviv. As they announced, it is the most significant fair in Israel, which is focused on establishing new and strengthening existing business contacts in the tourism sector, with additional educational opportunities through seminars.
IMTM gathers around 1,700 exhibitors from 52 countries, with around 26,000 visitors.
The air connection between these two destinations contributes to the great interest in Montenegro among Israelis. According to the Honorary Consul of Montenegro in Israel Nimrod Rinot, last year we had almost a record number of tourists from this market.
– This year, we expect an even greater number of tourists from Israel to visit this small, but touristically very diverse country, with beautiful nature and hospitable people. We believe that this year we will have 9 to 10 weekly flights from Podgorica and Tivat. This year, as many as three airlines have charter flights between Israel and Montenegro: Air Montenegro, Israir and Sun d’Or, which will contribute to even better attendance – said Rinot.
The executive director of Sun D’Or airline Gal Gershon emphasized the importance of establishing an airline between Israel and Montenegro.
– Twice a week we will have flights to this beautiful country, Montenegro. Bookings are already at an excellent level, and Israelis are excited about this line. We are cooperating very well with the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro in order to generate more tourist traffic from this market – said Gershon.
The national airline company Air Montenegro, which is a strategic partner of NTO Montenegro, says that charter flights are planned for this year from April to October, and that great interest has already been expressed.
– Israel is a very interesting market for Montenegro, and the growing number of tourists from Israel visiting our country is noticeable. Already on the first day of the fair, we noticed a great interest in flights to Montenegro, and we see great potential for our company there. This year, charter flights are planned for the period from April to October – three to five times a week, and we hope that in the near future we will be able to announce regular flights from Tel Aviv to Podgorica – said the director of sales and customer support, Dejan Pižurica.
The representative of the Hotel Regent Porto Montenegro, Aljona Bondareva, particularly emphasized the exceptional opportunities for connecting and establishing cooperation with potential partners provided by the presence at the IMTM fair.
During the first day of the fair, a presentation of the Montenegrin tourist offer was held, which gathered around 70 representatives of tour operators, travel agencies, the media, and visitors to the fair. On that occasion, prizes were awarded in the form of stays in high-class hotels and excursions, which were provided by strategic partners NTO Montenegro, HG Budvanska Riviera and the tourist agency Gold Travel, as well as local tourist organizations of Podgorica and Herceg Novi, HG Montenegro Stars, Regent Porto Montenegro and hotel SOA.
Dušanka Pavićević, the advisor to the director of the NTO of Montenegro, pointed out that Montenegro is a very attractive tourist destination for tourists from Israel, both because of the direct flights and the diverse tourist offer.
– There is an exceptional potential in this market, 60% of Israelis travel once a year on vacation, 35% of them more than once. This is all the reason why we pay special attention to promotion in this market, and participation in the IMTM fair is one of those activities. During the first day, we also organized a presentation of Montenegro’s tourist offer, which was attended by a large number of representatives of tour operators, media, partners who can contribute to the promotion of Montenegro in Israel, as well as visitors. We believe that the fair will generate good effects, and we appreciate the fact that our partners from Montenegro recognized the potential, so we are sure that together we will do a good promotion of our country – said Pavićević.
In addition to the NTO of Montenegro, the tourist offer of Montenegro was also presented by strategic partners – the national airline Air Montenegro, the hotel group Budvanska Riviera and the tourist agency Gold Travel, local tourist organizations of Podgorica, Budva, Herceg Novi, Kotor and Tivat, HG Montenegro Stars, Regent hotels Porto Montenegro, Maestral resort & casino and SOA, as well as tourist agencies Talas Montenegro DMC and Explorer DMC.
Along with the fair, the Global Tourism Innovation Forum is being held in the organization of the Ministry of Tourism of Israel and UNWTO. The forum is attended by high-ranking officials of the ministries of tourism, UNWTO, representatives of tourism associations, as well as a large number of representatives of companies that took part in the IMTM fair.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism is represented at this forum by Aleksandra Gardašević Slavuljica, general director of the Directorate for Development Policies in Tourism, who held a series of meetings with representatives of airline companies, officials of the participating countries and representatives of international organizations in the field of tourism on the sidelines of the conference.
