FORMED “COMMITTEE FOR TOURISM AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT” OF THE DMW

Bearing in mind the importance of tourism for the economic development of Montenegro and seeing it as a development opportunity, the German-Montenegrin Business Club (DMW) established the Committee for Tourism and Business Environment.

The task of this newly formed body is to further connect our two countries, business entities and citizens, through the improvement of the business environment.
This implies the creation of new opportunities, primarily in the field of tourism. Through a set of planned activities, the promotion of tourism as a strategic economic branch is foreseen, with an emphasis on reducing seasonality, increasing tourist traffic and strengthening the investment environment.

The members of the DMW Board for Tourism are renowned experts in the field of business and tourism, namely: Aleksandra Popović, who is also the president of the DMW Business Club, Željko Uljarević, President of the Board, and Michael Bader, Dr. Wolfram Zeihe and Aleksandra Gardašević-Slavuljica.

During the first session of the DMW Board for Tourism, many questions were raised. The focus was on “energy tourists” from the markets of Germany and Western Europe. This is a new category of passengers that has become differentiated due to the current energy crisis. Their tendency is to spend the winter in attractive tourist destinations, taking care to reduce the cost of living, including curbing energy consumption in their home countries. Therefore, it is about tourists interested in a longer stay, especially in the period during the winter season and the pre-summer season. The DMW Board for Tourism has defined challenges in the form of legal provisions for the stay of tourists from Western Europe for a period longer than 90 days, so in terms of encouraging tourist movements of this target group, it will also provide proposals for solutions.

Aleksandra Popović, a member of the Board and president of the DMW Business Club, said: “I am happy about the initiative aimed at further connecting Montenegro with the German tourist market. We will try to contribute to better positioning of our destination on the German market, recognized for its exceptional emission potential and high consumption per tourist. I believe that the key to further Montenegrin tourism development lies precisely in the orientation towards high-paying emission markets and increasing the length of stay of guests.”

Željko Uljarević, president of the DMW Board for Tourism, emphasized that there are numerous potentials that must be used through strengthening the business-tourism ties between Montenegro and Germany. “German investors and tourists are constantly looking for new opportunities. Our goal is to present Montenegro as an attractive tourist and investment destination. Our potentials are numerous, the destination is insufficiently explored, so we want to present it through the strong business ties that the German-Montenegrin business club has. One of our goals is to increase the number of tourists from SR Germany by “15% by 2025”.

We see our engagement as part of the improvement of the overall tourism product of Montenegro and our intention is to give our humble contribution to tourism workers and relevant state institutions through the elaboration of ideas and concrete proposals.