Last year, hotels and other accommodation companies achieved a total income of 560 million euros, which is 2022 million more than in 240, and 2019 million more than in 499. In April of this year, the categorization of 10,8 hotels was completed, and a significant increase was recorded in the number of hotels with four and five stars, as well as the number of beds in them. Now, 2019 percent of beds are in five-star hotels, while in 7,6, that percentage was XNUMX percent.
This is stated in the statistical data on tourism published in the new issue of the magazine "Top Business Montenegro", published by the company "BI Communication".
The largest hotel company in terms of accommodation capacity is the state "Budvan Riviera" with almost three and a half thousand beds. In second place is the "Montehos" group of businessmen Žarko Rakčević with 2.989 beds in five hotels, which has the highest realized profit of 8,7 million euros and the highest tax amount.
The hotel company with the highest revenue in 2023 is "Portonovi Hospitality Management Company", which operates the luxury hotel "One&Only" in the "Portonovi" settlement, with 32,7 million euros, of which the reported net profit was 4,9 million euros . In second place in terms of revenue is "Hotels Group Montenegro Stars" (within which the Vičić-based "Splendid" also operates) with 27,2 million euros, of which the profit was 1,7 million.
In third place is the state-owned "Budvan Riviera" with an income of 24,3 million and a profit of 1,9 million.
The number of employees in hotel companies last year was 9,4 thousand, which is 2,7 thousand more than in 2019, and 1,4 thousand more than in 2022.
Secretary of the Tourism and Hospitality Association Board of the Chamber of Commerce Sanja Marković in her text, where she presented data from that institution and the Ministry of Tourism, she states that this year 37 hotels were categorized with five stars, which is 7,4 percent of the total number of categorized hotels.
There were 2019 five-star hotels in 25, i.e. in four years their number increased by almost 50 percent. Back then, there were 3,3 thousand beds in the most luxurious hotels, and now there are two thousand or 60 percent more.
There is also a significant growth in hotels with four stars, of which there were 2019 in 179, and now there are 2014, while the number of beds in them increased from 20,9 to 26,3 thousand or by 25 percent. Now 53 percent of beds are in four-star hotels, while in 2019 that percentage was 48 percent.
There were 2019 three-star hotels in 166, and now there are 183, while the number of beds in them has increased by one thousand to 11,7 thousand.
The number of hotels with two and one stars is decreasing, as well as the number of beds in them. There are now eight one-star hotels, compared to 2019 in 14.
"The development of new high-quality accommodation capacities and the increase of the share of hotels in total capacities is the main goal that will increase the quality of the tourist offer. Considering the territorial limitations of the country, it is necessary to create conditions for structural changes in accommodation capacity, that is, for the existing lower category hotels to be modernized over time and grow into higher category hotels", said Marković.
She states that the occupancy rate is a key performance indicator within the hotel sector, as it represents the ratio of occupied to total rental units.
"The hotel occupancy rate in Montenegro ranges from 26,3 percent in November to 78,9 percent in August, which indicates high seasonality. According to available Eurostat data, the average hotel occupancy rate in the period March - November 2023 in Spain is 63,67 percent, in Croatia 56,91 percent, in Italy 53,44 percent, in Greece 52,24 percent, while in Montenegro this rate is 49,08 percent," said Marković.
She points out that the model of mass summer tourism still exists in Montenegro at higher prices, but with slightly lower earnings because the costs of doing business are higher.
"Total revenues from tourism in 2023, according to data from the Central Bank of Montenegro, amount to 1,515 billion euros and are 44 percent higher than in 2022, or 38 percent higher than in 2019. The record revenues from tourism in 2023 were partly achieved through an inflationary increase in prices. The total share of income from tourism in the GDP in 2023 is 22,13 percent, which clearly indicates the great importance of tourism for the Montenegrin economy. Tourism in Montenegro is still a low accumulative branch of the economy, with long investment return periods, interest rates are higher, and uncertainty is high in the short and medium term, making investment difficult. In order to further develop Montenegro as a tourist destination, it is necessary to provide investment loans for tourism with a significantly longer repayment period, to work more actively on attracting investors and creating a more favorable business environment", said Marković.
Cafes and restaurants generated 422 million in revenue last year
Restaurants and cafes achieved a total income of 422 million euros last year, while in 2019 their reported income was 193 million euros.
The number of companies engaged in catering for this period increased from 1.870 to 2.669.
The growth of income in the hospitality industry could be affected by inflation, an increase in the number of catering shops, increased consumption of foreigners residing in Montenegro, but also stricter measures of fiscalization and control of VAT calculations.
Last year, the company "PaneVivo" from Podgorica (catering facilities "Sicilia") had the largest income from this area, which had a total income of 11 million and a net profit of 1,1 million.
In second place in terms of revenue is the catering company "Food Style MNE" from Porto Montenegro in Tivat, with revenue of 5,5 million and profit of 596 thousand.
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