Ivančević: We have „unsustainable tourism“, the chaos must be stopped urgently

Montenegrin tourism, as the country’s most important economic sector, has for years been operating at the very edge of the system’s capacity. Instead of a clear vision, strategic planning, and institutional dialogue with the business community, the sector has, according to tourism professionals, been left to improvisation, neglect, and short-term decision-making. On the state of tourism, the role of the Ministry of Tourism, missed opportunities, and the directions Montenegro must take, Portal ETV spoke with Dragan Purko Ivančević, a tourism professional and a member of the Tourism Committee of the Chamber of Commerce.

Tourism governance

Portal ETV: How is the tourism system being managed from the perspective of the Ministry of Tourism? Does the Minister of Tourism, Simonida Kordić, fully understand the strategic importance of tourism as a key sector of Montenegro’s economy?

IVANČEVIĆ: It is difficult to answer that question. What is incomprehensible, yet unfortunately true, is that the relevant ministry persistently avoids cooperation with the tourism industry, while at the same time failing to adopt laws and regulations that would support and enhance the development of tourism. In such circumstances, without strategic documents defining future directions for sustainability and tourism management, it is impossible to avoid the chaos in which our tourism is currently operating.

Key mistakes have to be paid for

Portal ETV: What did we do critically wrong in recent years in the development of tourism that is now clearly „coming back to haunt us“?

IVANČEVIĆ: What we did critically wrong is that we practically did nothing. Even the positive developments that occurred happened by chance, because there has been no planned development. From the Ministry of Tourism we expected at least a realistic assessment of the situation and a willingness to discuss problems, but instead we received silence, neglect, and a constant avoidance of working together for the benefit of tourism.

Portal ETV: Is the state today managing tourism development in the right way, or are we still moving in the wrong direction?

IVANČEVIĆ: No one is managing development at all, and this creates despair among tourism workers, who are left to fight for survival on their own, without any strategic destination management.

Portal ETV: Which source markets must be a strategic priority for Montenegro, and why?

IVANČEVIĆ: Western European markets, because without them it is impossible to plan a six-month tourist season in the Mediterranean.

What tourism model is realistic for Montenegro

Portal ETV: What kind of tourism should Montenegro develop: mass tourism, elite tourism, sustainable tourism, or a hybrid model adapted to our capacities?

IVANČEVIĆ: Our priority should be to improve the quality of what we currently have in tourism and to make it sustainable; only then can we think about elite tourism or any other model. What we currently have, from the perspective of both the tourism industry and the local population, can be described as „unsustainable tourism“.

Airports as the first image of a destination

Portal ETV: Can we talk about the first image of a prestigious tourist destination we want to present when airport terminals, especially at Tivat Airport, are in such poor condition?

IVANČEVIĆ: Airports are both the transport and tourism reception of our country. This is where our guests form their first and last impression of the destination. The current management, operating under extremely difficult conditions, is trying to ensure a certain level of service quality, achieve growth in passenger traffic, and introduce new carriers and markets. I believe the state urgently needs to place its trust in them and give them a free hand to undertake the reconstruction of our airports and adapt them to international standards.

Price-to-quality ratio

Portal ETV: Are we too expensive in relation to what we offer when it comes to drinks, food, beach loungers, accommodation, and overall service?

IVANČEVIĆ: Organized tourism has been in constant decline precisely because, over recent years, due to well-known reasons, the quality of the destination has been decreasing while prices have been rising. The reason lies in ill-considered, anti-tourism decisions by our Government to increase taxes and introduce new levies on the tourism sector. As a result, in the absence of a strategy and sustainable tourism management, we are losing the competition on two fronts - quality and competitiveness.

Small family hotels or luxury resorts?

Portal ETV: What is currently a greater priority: the development of small and family-run hotels or the construction of large five-star hotels?

IVANČEVIĆ: At this moment, the most important task is to stop the current chaos and address infrastructure-related problems; only then can we make plans for destination development. In a situation like this, any new hotel - large or small - loses one or two stars on the market because of its surroundings. It is logical that every individual hospitality facility shares the fate of the destination as a whole. The quality of service depends on the quality of the destination. No service provider can function as an island, and it is inevitable that the quality of individual participants in the tourism market cannot be separated from the overall quality of the destination.