Statistics and observations of Kolašin tourist officials indicate that Kolašin, which is considered a predominantly winter tourist center, should also be promoted as a summer tourist destination.
There are several reasons for this and, among other things, as he told "Vijesti" Zorica Milašinović, director of the Tourist Organization (TO), the past two years show that the tourist "summer" in Kolašin has extended to more than six months.
"Formally, Kolašin is recognized as a winter tourist center, but my position is definitely that, in addition, it should be promoted as a desirable place for summer vacations. Since the middle of April, at least for the past two years, we have had a significant number of tourists who come to our city for an active vacation (hiking, cycling, horse riding, rafting...). The summer season extends until the end of October, which, along with September, is an ideal month for all those interested in an active vacation," says Milašinović for "Vijesti".
According to her, the guests of Kolašin during the spring and autumn months are mainly tourists from France, Germany and Belgium. Director TO explains that the restrictions imposed by the winter months and the specifics of that part of the tourist year cannot be a challenge in the summer.
"Of course, the promotion of the town as a ski center should be continued, but we should not forget the fact that the success of the winter season depends on whether it snows. The offer must be diversified, both during the winter and during the summer... The experience of the past two years shows that tourists, who come to Kolašin for an active vacation, choose mostly private accommodation outside the city, so the capacity is filled in that type of accommodation was up to 90 percent, while in the city it was significantly weaker," says Milašnović.
As he explains, it is also significant that a large number of outdoor events are held during the summer, while in the winter the organization of such events is limited by space.
That the tourist product in Kolašin is not sufficiently diversified and that there is still a high degree of seasonality is stated in the draft of the new Strategic Development Plan (SDP) until 2031. In that document, it is also written that the offer is still dominantly oriented towards the ski resort during the winter.
"Other types of tourism are insufficiently developed, such as tourism based on nature, ecotourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism... The existing tourist offer in the summer period of the year is based on activities that take place in the natural environment... The winter tourist season is largely determined by the activity skiing on Bjelasica...", says the draft SPR.
In order for Kolašin to be recognized as a summer tourist center, says the president of the Association of Private Accommodation Providers and one of the founders of Tango Camp Dusko Raketic, it is necessary to use the potential of several events in Kolašin. This would be achieved, he claims, with more stable and significant support from local and state addresses.
"I think that the festival and other manifestations that, with great enthusiasm, persist in Kolašin, events that have multiple potential, are still underutilized. With more serious support, they could 'grow' in terms of duration and number of participants and would be a safe summer offer. These are events that, each in its own way, brand the city... The winter tourist season is 'packed' into a relatively short period, more precisely, as it turned out in the past few years, from Christmas to the end of February," explains Raketić for "Vijesti". .
On the other hand, summer, as he claims, offers the possibility for even more manifestations, which, in principle, do not depend on weather conditions, that is, their contents can be adapted to weather conditions.
How to keep transit tourists?
Raketić warns that those who are in charge of planning the development of tourism and shaping the tourist product should already pay attention to the possibility that Kolašin will soon lose a significant category of tourists during the summer with the completion of the extension of the highway. It is about the so-called transit tourists, he explains. According to Raketić's experiences, they make up about 50 percent of the guests during the summer.
"When the next phase of the highway is completed, there is a danger that we will lose this type of guests. We are talking about tourists who, on their way to the sea, stay a night or several nights in Kolašin. According to my experience as a provider of private accommodation, in the summer they make up about half of the total number of guests. In the future, we need to come up with a way to motivate them to get off the highway and get to Kolašin, which is 10 kilometers away," says the interlocutor of "Vijesti".
Raketić also assesses that, in the future, a way should be found for closer and more specific cooperation of all those who live from tourism in Kolašin, or are organizers of events. In several ways, he claims, they could help each other, and that would result in a better quality tourist offer. According to him, the idea and coordination of this cooperation should come from the local government.
The limiting factor of Kolašin tourism is, among other things, insufficient cooperation between tourism officials, authorities and organizations, it was stated in the draft SPR. As written in that document, the tourist infrastructure is unused due to the lack of coordination of the main actors in development.
Ivanović: Further investments in ski infrastructure are necessary
The opportunity to attract tourists to Kolašn with something else, besides the ski slopes, is recognized, claims the vice president of the municipality. Vasilije Ivanovic, and in local administration. However, as he explains, the city is "branded" as a ski center, so the most intensive promotion should be in that sense.
He says that investments in ski infrastructure should continue, but he also sees an opportunity in positioning Kolašin as an ideal destination for sports tourism during the summer.
"Until now, many sports teams have abandoned their preparations in Kolašin, due to insufficiently developed sports infrastructure. "With the start of the construction of the sports zone, and I remind you that the tender for the start of part of these works has been successfully completed, in, say, two years, the city will have all the conditions to develop as a sports tourism destination", explains Ivanović.
In addition, according to him, Kolašin's advantages for summer tourism are protected areas, a large number of "natural jewels", wide opportunities for active vacations...
He claims that the Municipality has all this in mind and is carefully planning the tourism future of Kolašin, keeping in mind both advantages and challenges.
According to official statistics, the guests of Kolašin are mainly foreign tourists. Last year, for example, they aged close to 123.000, out of a total of about 162.000 overnight stays.
According to the data from the SPR draft, there were nine hotels in that municipality at the end of last year, three each with four, three and two stars. According to the document, there are about 2.257 beds in private accommodation.
Referring to data from the Special Purpose Spatial Plan (PPPN) of Bjelasica and Komovi, the construction of 53 hotels, 23 apartment-type pension hotels (condo hotels, apartments, etc.), one hostel and one mountain lodge is planned on the mountain.
According to the plan, a total of 224 kilometers of ski tracks are planned on Bjelasica, which will be covered by 52 lifts/cable cars.
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