Tivat: Touristic season above expectations, average destination quality rating 4.44

The good decision of the Government not to close the borders has led to the results achieved in tourist traffic exceeding expectations this year, said the President of the Municipality of Tivat, Zeljko Komnenovic, during the presentation of the results of tourist traffic for eight months this year.

Komnenović says that in the period January-August, Tivat was visited by over 85,000 guests, who spent over 750,000 nights. That is 29 percent fewer guests and 16 percent fewer overnight stays compared to 2019, but these are results that exceeded expectations, especially when you keep in mind that the pre-season was late.

"I am glad that the guests stayed longer and that they announced their return to Tivat. All this inspires optimism for the next season. "

Such good results, according to Komnenović, are largely the result of a good regional campaign, adding that this year the traditional guests returned to Tivat and the Bay of Kotor.

Guests from Serbia were dominant, but it is interesting to note that after them, the most numerous were guests from Russia, a market from which there were no direct flights this year. Financial indicators also speak in favor of the season being good.

Komnenović points out that over 535 thousand euros were realized from the sojourn, tourist tax and membership fees, which is only 11 percent less income compared to 2019.

"Tourist tax is 22 percent higher than in 2019, while the collection of sojourn tax was slightly lower compared to the same comparative period," he says.

Komnenović reminded that in the first nine months of this year, the turnover of 622 thousand passengers was realized at Tivat Airport, with the data that there is a significant increase in business aviation flights and that the number of these flights is 45% higher than in 2019.

"This data shows that the assessment of individuals that this year they went to animate guests with lower purchasing power is not accurate."

When it comes to the Tourist Survey in which guests rate the overall tourist offer of the destination, it is a high 4.44 this year.

Although satisfied with how the guests evaluated the offer, the first man of Tivat points out that there is still room for improvement of the offer, primarily when it comes to cleanliness of the city and noise reduction.

On the positive side, Komnenović points out the good quality of the offer in private accommodation, while he sees the lack of a classic hotel offer as a disadvantage.

He also announced that he would deal with the problem of seasonality and that they plan to invest in sports infrastructure in order to have guests in the city in the winter months when preparations for sports clubs are underway.

"After a long time, players of FC Vojvodina as well as many other sports clubs will have their winter preparations in Tivat."

Today, over 2,100 tourists are staying in the municipality of Tivat, which is about 10 percent more than in 2019, said the director of TO Tivat, Danica Ćeranić Banjević.

Speaking about the visit for the first eight months of this year, she said that significantly fewer visits were recorded in the pre-season, while in July and August, excellent results were recorded.

"In August, a visit was recorded, which was 1 percent higher than in 2019. Tourists from the markets of Serbia, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany, Croatia have the largest share in the total overnight stays of foreign tourists for the mentioned period, followed by the USA, Turkey and France.

Recalling the activities of the Tourist Organization, Banjevic pointed out that they continued the "Green Destinations" approach program.

"By the end of June 2021, TO Tivat reported a total of 30 criteria and it is planned that for the other 70 criteria the report will be submitted by the end of the year."

Ćeranić reminds that Tivat is the only destination from Montenegro that presents its offer on the international market on the Good Travel Guide portal.

This year, we also had an extremely good digital marketing campaign, which was realized during the month of June, via the social networks Facebook and Instagram.

"The campaign achieved 76,801 visits to the website and over 26 million impressions, which achieved a far better result than planned with an average click price of 0.02 euros. The planned number of clicks was 10,000. "

This year's Tourist Survey showed, says Banjević, that Tivat is recognized as a destination where the primary motives for the arrival of tourists are passive rest and relaxation.

"They were determined to come to Tivat by earlier arrivals as well as new experiences and experiences. Epidemiological measures, ie simple entry procedures, were also an important motive for choosing Tivat as a holiday destination. "

Tourists who visited Tivat this year are especially pleased with the beauty of nature and the environment, personal safety in the destination, the beauty and cleanliness of the beaches, comfort and kindness of the staff, concluded Ćeranić.