Witten: We are trying to bring German tourists back to Montenegro

Tourists from Germany increasingly recognize Montenegro as a vacation destination, while investors are most interested in investments in tourism capacities and renewable energy sources, announced the Honorary Consul of Montenegro in Hamburg, Per Witten.

He told the Glasnik of the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG) that tourism and energy projects are the most current and interesting for economic cooperation between Montenegro and Germany.

"The biggest opportunities for cooperation between the two countries are in tourism. This branch of the economy is very interesting for us for investments," said Witten.

However, as he stated, on the economic map of Germany, Montenegro is not positioned so high and is not so present.

"Our goal is to affirm Montenegro as a prestigious destination on the German market. We are trying to find a way to bring German tourists back to your country because, let me remind you, at one time there were significantly more tourists vacationing in Montenegro than now. Your country was very interesting to us, so three or four decades ago there were many more visits from Germany," Witen specified.

Answering the question of whether the "golden age" in tourism could return and when, he said that he could not strictly predict this, considering that at the time of the boom in Montenegrin tourism, Europe was divided, and Montenegro had a certain privilege, so they came to Montenegro for summer vacations.

"Today, you are in competition with a large number of small countries, small destinations, and the situation is completely different. Perhaps it is realistic to expect that in five to six years the number of tourists from Germany who will stay in Montenegro will double or triple," said Witten.

He also said that businessmen's meetings, such as the one in June, when the Hamburg delegation visited Montenegro, are an opportunity to speed up these steps, which is why he chose representatives of large companies from the north of Germany in the delegation.

"We have come here so that German businessmen can get to know the business environment, get the necessary information and, possibly, decide to start a business. The interest is there and I hope that it will result in concrete jobs in the near future," Witten said.

Speaking about how energy could be an area in which the two countries could strengthen economic ties, Witten said that the German government insists that those in their country must focus on building renewable energy sources.

"Given that you have natural resources, this represents an opportunity for the development of those energy sources, the production of electricity from those resources. Bearing in mind the construction of the submarine energy cable that connects you with Italy, this represents an opportunity for faster and greater development of those energy sources and, of course, the export of energy from Western Europe to other countries via the cable," explained Witten.

He said that the Germans are absolutely interested in investing in these energy projects, which is why they are here.

"Montenegro is in a great position in that context. However, the German government, that is, our industrial sector, decides on this. We are in a position to inform and be the logistics of these projects", added Witten.

He also stated that there is an intention to cooperate with the Port of Bar, but also to expand cooperation with other ports, for example Rijeka.

Witten added that he will come in the future as well, where the contacts will be more frequent and he hopes that it will result in the improvement of business relations between the two countries.