What should be done to make tourists stay longer in Podgorica?

Although in recent years Podgorica has seen an increase in the number of visits by foreign guests, a significant increase in overnight stays, the question arises as to how the capital can keep tourists longer, and not just be a transit stop.

In particular, it is worth considering how Podgorica can take advantage of the nearby Skadar Lake and the attractive Kuka Mountains, Komova...

The Tourist Organization (TO) points to the increasingly better positioning of Podgorica on the tourist map. Tourists are most interested in visiting the Skadar Lake National Park, visiting the churches and monasteries on the lake, and cruising and bird watching. In addition, it is very popular, the first, fully marked, panoramic road that leads to the area of ​​Kuča, the circle around Korit, with the beautiful Bukumir and Rikavac lakes.

As they say, active vacations attract more and more tourists, and picnic spots in the city as well as the Adventure Park in Gorica are very popular.

"As part of the cultural offer, the archaeological sites of Medun and Duklja, the Center of Contemporary Art, as well as the museums and galleries of the Capital City stand out. The old part of the city, the Clock Tower and the Sastavci Bridge are also very important." they said from TO Podgorica.

In TO, they expect that the tourism valorization of the archaeological site of Duklja will mark the coming months, and make the site attractive for tourists.

"The Tourist Organization of the Capital City furnished the location with furniture for the purpose of tourist valorization and presentation, within the framework of the RiTour cross-border cooperation project of CRO-BiH-MNE, which is financed from the IPA funds of the EU", said the TO.

Podgorica has accommodation facilities for all categories of tourists, and TO says that the largest number of those staying in four- and five-star hotels make up 50 percent of the total number of tourists. An overnight stay in such hotels is up to 150 euros per person, while prices in hostels, motels and private accommodation range from 10 euros to 30 euros per night. When it comes to the collection of residence tax, it is getting better every year, but there is a large number of unregistered providers of private accommodation, which makes records difficult, and the TO calls on inspection services to strengthen controls within their jurisdiction.

Podgorica spring market in May

For the first time this year, the Podgorica Spring Market will be organized in the capital in the period from May 1 to 21, which will certainly enhance the stay in Podgorica for both our fellow citizens and tourists who are numerous in our city during that period.

As part of this event, the Tourist Organization of Podgorica will organize the "Day of Patispanja", which continues the activities aimed at the additional promotion of the extremely rich gastronomic offer of the Podgorica region.

In the first week of June, we are expecting the "Carp Day" event, which, in cooperation with GO Golubovci, is already traditionally celebrated in Plavnica, with the aim of further promoting the NP "Skadarsko jezero" and highlighting the carp species as an indigenous product.

As for the months of July and August, this year we are also planning to organize the "Let's go to Morača" event, followed by the Regional Kayak Competition, with the aim of additional promotion and valorization of the Morača River.

Remarks for signposts

More than once, tourists, as well as local hospitality workers, pointed out that the road signs around the city could be much better, and that some should be replaced.

In the first six months of last year, the number of tourists in Podgorica increased by 30 percent compared to 2017. In the first six months of last year, 71.737 tourists visited the capital, i.e. 30,71 percent more than in the same period of the previous year.