The Montenegrin Convention Bureau, within the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, is once again presenting the destination's offer at the IMEX 2025 fair, which will be held from May 20 to 22 in Frankfurt.
Montenegro's appearance at this most important European fair for the global business events industry is aimed at positioning the country as an attractive and content-rich destination for organizing various types of business events such as conferences, congresses, business meetings and incentive trips.
During the three days of the fair, representatives of the Montenegrin Convention Bureau hold numerous meetings with business event organizers from Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Spain, Albania, Serbia, as well as from distant markets such as Canada, the USA, India, China, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China, Costa Rica, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, etc.
The Director of the Montenegrin Convention Bureau, Aleksandra Maksimović, said after the first day of the fair: "The Montenegrin Convention Bureau continues to strategically develop business tourism, relying on global trends that bring authenticity and personalized experiences of participants to the forefront. Since participation in such events is key to promoting and establishing contacts in the sphere of business tourism, it is extremely important that at this fair we have the opportunity, together with the members of the bureau, to present Montenegro as a destination that combines professional service, inspiring nature and a strong local identity - something that modern business guests increasingly appreciate. Numerous meetings with international event organizers 'hosted buyers' and the expressed interest in organizing events in our country confirm that Montenegro is strengthening its position on the map of business tourism."
Maksimović points out that 48 members of the bureau were certified last year, including travel agencies, hotels with conference and congress capacities, special event venues, local tourism organizations and one congress center that meet high international standards for organizing business events. The Incentive Measures Program provides support for the improvement of MICE tourism through non-refundable financial resources, which includes strengthening conference capacities, organizing international events and promotional activities of members, and their offer is presented on a specialized website.
The development of this type of tourism is extremely important from the aspect of extending the season and generating higher tourism revenues, since business trips take place outside the main tourist season, and since tourist spending on business trips is significantly higher than that of the average tourist. According to the latest report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), for the period 2024-2034, tourist spending on business trips in Montenegro is forecast to grow by 3,8%.
Montenegro attracted attention at the Frankfurt trade fair as an attractive destination for business travel. Among those who expressed interest was Richard Savage from the British travel agency Specialised Travel, who stressed the importance of establishing cooperation with Montenegrin representatives.
“I made a special effort to come and talk to Montenegro because we haven't collaborated before, but we are very interested in it. There seems to be a growing interest in Montenegro as a destination in the UK and this trip is very useful for us to gather information.
"I think many people have stopped in Kotor for maybe 24 hours like I did on a cruise ship, but they've never gone inland and really gotten to know the country — and that's what we need. So we're very grateful to you for being here at the fair," said Savage.
Montenegro also left a strong impression on representatives from distant markets, including Joao Paulo Teco from the Brazilian agency Strategic and Creative Planning Travel Solution.
"My impressions of Montenegro are that it is a truly beautiful country – you have nature, culture, history, beautiful lakes, mountains and great opportunities. I think people from Brazil would love to visit Montenegro," he said.
Edil Omeragić from the Montenegro Concierge DMC agency emphasized the importance of participating in this fair, emphasizing that it is an exceptional opportunity to establish new business contacts and promote Montenegro as an attractive MICE destination.
"We are very pleased to be participating in the most important MICE fair in Frankfurt this year, where the interest of international partners in Montenegro is truly great. Montenegro is recognized as an authentic and attractive destination for business and incentive travel," said Omeragić.
At the stand of the NTO Montenegro, the offer is presented by members of the Montenegrin Convention Bureau: travel agencies Explorer, Meridian, Montenegro Concierge, Venn Tour Balkan and Congress Travel, hotels Montenegro Stars Hotel Group, Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort, Lazure Hotel & Marina, The Chedi Luštica Bay, Avala Resort & Villas, then the congress center Music Center of Montenegro, as well as local tourism organizations of Herceg Novi and Podgorica. The appearance of the economy at this fair was supported by the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro.
The IMEX fair in Frankfurt, now in its 23rd year, brings together more than 4,000 event organizers from around the world and connects them with more than 3000 exhibitors to establish collaboration and create better business event experiences.
