Montenegro has a great natural potential for the development of nautical tourism, which requires additional promotion of the destination, as well as the improvement of excursion programs that should be adapted to passengers arriving by cruise ships, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism assessed. The representative of the Directorate for the Development of Tourist Destinations in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Nikola Ražnatović, said that since 2005 significant progress was made in the field of nautical tourism in Montenegro. "In the past ten years, new services for vessels, sailing schools, updated nautical charts have been established, and we continue to work continuously on improving the business environment for the development of nautical tourism," said Ražnatović in an interview with the Mina-business agency. According to him, not only in Montenegro, but also in the entire Adriatic, there is a need to implement an appropriate environmental policy, improve port service and product quality, improve infrastructure, and increase competitiveness in the nautical tourism market. "In this sense, we believe that additional promotion of our destination is necessary in order to increase the traffic of passengers and cruise ships in our ports, which have great potential. The Adriatic region deserves a concrete project of joint cooperation with the aim of developing interest in this region and improving its recognition at the international level", Ražnatović believes. Through the improvement of joint cooperation and the association of goals with other countries on the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro can improve recognition around the world, work on increasing interest in distant markets, not neglecting Europe, which will contribute to greater tourist traffic and better economic effects from this type of tourism. "In addition, intensive cooperation of the local community, tourist organizations, as well as all those participants directly or indirectly involved in the development and raising the quality of the tourist product of both port cities and the whole of Montenegro is necessary," said Ražnatović. He said that, taking into account the analyzes coming from cruise associations that deal with industry research, Kotor is one of the most popular destinations in the Mediterranean this year, and that city will be visited by 429 cruisers. "The direction of decision-making about the future and development of this type of tourism will largely be determined by a detailed analysis, bearing in mind the cultural importance of Kotor and Boka in general, but also the ecological vulnerability of the bay," Ražnatović said. Last year, cruisers started coming to Bar, which during the previous season was visited by seven cruisers from the British company Thomson Cruises. "We expect that Bar will position itself as a cruising destination in the coming period, and therefore the number of cruise ships and tourists owned by Bar will increase significantly," said Ražnatović. According to him, when talking about the economic impact of that industry, the results of surveys show that travelers spend an average of 40 euros in Kotor and 25 euros in Bar. It is very important to work continuously on the improvement of the existing tourist offer and the development of new products, as well as the creation of local offers that will be tempting for visitors to spend money and make them want to come back again. Ražnatović reminded that Montenegro got an exclusive marina for superyachts Porto Montenegro, Herceg Novi has positioned itself when it comes to sailing, the first yachting club was founded in Kotor, capacities have been increased in the Budva marina, the Prčanj marina is full during the season, while the bar has with a new set of services. "In addition, new marinas are under construction in Luštica and in Herceg Novi, which will also have significant capacities and be able to receive superyachts. As part of the Luštica Bay project, the construction of two marinas is planned, and it is expected that the first one, whose capacity will be 176 berths, will be opened next year," explained Ražnatović. In Herceg Novi, as part of the Portonovi project, a marina with 220 berths for yachts and superyachts is being built. "Montenegro's competitive position in the Mediterranean through a favorable regulatory and fiscal environment has enabled the realization of development projects through investments in nautical tourism and the better positioning of Montenegro as a destination for this type of tourism," Ražnatović believes. The constant development of that segment brings better and better results, so last year 4,38 thousand foreign vessels for leisure, sports and recreation, i.e. yachts, sailboats and speedboats, entered the territorial sea of Montenegro, which is 9,1 percent more compared to in 2015 year. "In the coming period, the development of a strategy for the sustainable development of nautical tourism is planned, which will define the network of nautical tourism ports and propose the treatment of certain contents in them, as well as determine the anchorage zones for cruisers and megayachts in the Boka Bay area. It is necessary to take into account the planned contents of the same or similar purpose in the neighboring municipalities and to consider them as a unique tourist offer", explained Ražnatović. As he added, they are actively working on the promotion of Montenegro as an attractive destination for nautical tourism through the participation of the National Tourist Organization (NTO) at international tourism fairs, but also through the participation of private companies at specialized fairs around the world. "In the past few years, Montenegro has been recognized by the international public and the nautical world as one of the most attractive destinations for this type of tourism in the Mediterranean. This is also supported by the fact that this year, for the third time in a row, the international superyacht fair MYBA Pop-Up Superyacht Show will be held in the Porto Montenegro marina," concluded Ražnatović.
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