From May to September, more than 50 events of an entertaining nature are held in Montenegro, and last year about 150.000 guests from all over the world came because of them.
"Being a popular tourist festival destination brings good profits to the domestic economy, and in the Montenegrin case, it also means excellent international promotion of the country. Festival tourism is an important tourist product, and it is often the main reason for coming to a certain country. Globally, this segment of tourism is worth more than 2,3 billion euros, and that number is expected to double by 2021," Radica Zeković from UNDP told "Vijesta".
She stated that festival tourism brings numerous benefits to the tourist destination, such as an increase in the number of arrivals, number of overnight stays, development of local infrastructure, reduction of seasonality, increase in tourist consumption and positively affects the image of the tourist destination.
"Festivals primarily attract young people, because more than 75 percent of the guests who visit the festival are under 35 years old. Such tourists have stronger paying powers, they are ready to spend more, and data from the countries of the region show that festival visitors spend between 250 and 350 euros per day," said Zeković.
UNDP is a co-organizer or has given support to increasingly popular "green" festivals in the world, such as Southern Soul Festival, Lake Fest, Sea Dance Festival, Green Montenegro International Film Fest, Džada Film Fest...
"UNDP strives to contribute to raising environmental awareness in Montenegro through cooperation with people from the world of art. The goal is to contribute to sustainable development, preservation and improvement of the environment. One of the things we do in cooperation with the Ministry of Sustainable Tourism and the National Tourism Organization (NTO), is to try to send important messages about the climate and reduction of natural pollution to a large number of people through the phenomenon of pop culture. The organization of a green event is an area from which it is relatively easy to switch to the path of sustainability. Big festivals like the British Glastonbury or the Danish Roskilde have made their name a brand in the green arena thanks to pioneering initiatives related to reducing the impact on the environment. This year, Glastonbury is taking a break because it has prepared for major developments in this field and announced that for next year it will ban the introduction of plastic bottles to the festival.
Green events are focused on efficient use of energy and water, waste reduction, use of ecological cardboard instead of plastic and promotion of environmental protection topics.
"Festivals create large amounts of waste and produce carbon dioxide. In cooperation with UNDP, during the organization of the festival, ecologically sustainable practices are implemented - reduction and proper management of waste, reduction of resource consumption (water, energy, etc.), promotion of sustainable/green modes of transport, engagement of local suppliers and local companies to support the organization, dissemination of information about the importance of a responsible attitude towards the environment... The organizers of the festival use natural materials for the construction of stages and protective fences, entrances and auxiliary facilities, which they store after the end of the festival and use them again the following year. At the festival location itself and on all stages, the classic light bulbs have been replaced by LEDs. For the accommodation of performers and staff, priority is given to apartments and hotels that have an ecological certificate, that is, they use solar energy to heat water, and in this way additionally affect the protection of the environment. All our green festivals reduce their carbon footprint by after the tickets are sold, the organizers will pay EUR 0,5 each to the Green Fund, to support sustainable projects in Montenegro", explained Zeković.
She claims that in the segment of festival tourism, Montenegro has begun to position itself on the European map of important events.
"Being a tourist country means constantly creating new content and following current trends. In the context of brand creation, we still have a lot of room for growth. Tourism is not only a matter of supply. In the last decade, the demand for tourism has changed fundamentally. Today, tourists have enormous choices, and they are looking for content in the first place. The image of a desirable tourist destination for the 21st century is being built today, among other things, on festival tourism," said Zeković.
Ulcinj among the 10 best in Europe
"Where there are festivals, tourism is obviously booming and that's why it's a branch in which it's really worth investing. All this helps in the good promotion of Montenegro, because the world media write about our festivals in superlatives, and young visitors use social networks to promote our destination. A good example is the recently concluded Southern Soul festival in Ulcinj, which was also written about by the Guardian, ranking it among the 10 best in Europe," Zeković said.
She stated that Montenegro is increasingly using the pop culture phenomenon of connecting via online communities ("followers and friends"), based on common affinities.
"Destinations today attract younger travelers in different ways, and music festivals stand out in particular. The digital world and social networks completely change the way of promoting the destination offer. More and more travelers rely on the recommendations of bloggers or influential personalities, influencers on social networks. Montenegro takes the whole digital story very seriously and a lot of work is being done on this front".
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