Tourism in Montenegro is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which has been particularly evident in recent years, the Ministry of Tourism said, stating that a diverse offer will enable minimizing the negative effects of climate change on tourism business.
The Ministry of Tourism said that climate change affects a wider range of services in tourism, and the most obvious consequences are visible in snowfall.
"However, climate change, through an increase in the average world temperature, also affects the rise of the sea level, then frequent occurrences of floods, droughts, as well as large fires," the Ministry of Tourism told the MINA Agency.
All that, they added, affects the level of attractiveness of tourist destinations from the point of view of tourists.
The government department stated that, generally speaking, tourism and the environment are inextricably linked, which causes their direct dependence.
"The environment is the basis on which tourism, i.e. the tourism product, is created and developed. This further means that any change in the environment directly, positively or negatively, affects tourism, as well as vice versa," said the Ministry of Tourism.
They said that tourism in Montenegro depends on the potential formed by the environment, and that the Montenegrin tourism product is, to a large extent, based on nature - the sea, mountains, rivers and lakes.
"Therefore, it can be stated that tourism in our country is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which has been especially evident in recent years," the Ministry stated.
In this sense, as they said, the lack of snowfall is no longer surprising.
"However, just as every crisis situation gives rise to new solutions and opportunities, it is the same in this situation," said the relevant ministry.
As they stated, ski resorts, ski slopes and other winter tourist infrastructure become a base for developing novelties in the offer of winter centers in conditions without snow, such as, among others, panoramic ski lifts, trails for Nordic walking, for dry bobsled, trails for adventure walking, hiking and cycling tours.
The Ministry of Tourism said that, in addition, we should take into account the fact that the entire territory of Montenegro is "covered" by a specific tourist infrastructure, which was realized through a project led by the Ministry, within which four panoramic roads - "Durmitor ring" ", "Crown of Montenegro", "Circle around the trough" and "Sea and heights".
Each of these panoramic roads, as they added, partly passes through mountainous areas.
The relevant ministry stated that, accordingly, the tourist offer that is being developed in areas located on panoramic roads is one of the ways to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, in this case the lack of snow.
"In addition, the five national parks in Montenegro also represent an important link from the tourist aspect, in terms of raising the level of tourism in Montenegro's resistance to climate change," said the Ministry.
Answering the question of which characteristics of Montenegrin tourism make it vulnerable to the effects of climate change and whether these are, first of all, pronounced seasonality and the lack of diversification of tourist products, they said that Montenegro, due to its geographical position on the Mediterranean, is destined for the "Sun -Sea-Sand" offer and that it will also have a suitable demand in the coming period.
The Ministry pointed out that, given that it is a summer tourist product, seasonality in the business of the tourism industry is still our reality.
"However, the task before us, as decision-makers, both at the state and local level, is to contribute to the development of the "365 days" offer through the diversification of the tourist product," said the Ministry of Tourism.
As they said from that Government department, Montenegro is rich in terms of the diversity of natural, socio-cultural, historical and ethnic characteristics, which represents a quality basis for the development of specific and unique types of tourist offer.
The year-round tourist product, they added, will be the basis for re-branding Montenegro as a tourist destination.
"Namely, through digital transformation, individualization in the provision of services is becoming more prevalent in Montenegro as well, that is, our product is increasingly being formed in accordance with the direct needs and wishes of tourists, thereby better positioning Montenegro on the international tourist map," the Ministry stated. of tourism.
Speaking about the measures needed to improve the resilience of the tourism sector to climate change, they said that green tourism implies activities aimed at establishing environmental sustainability on the one hand, and climate neutrality on the other.
It is necessary, as they pointed out, that the "use" of the environment takes place in a way that will not destroy it.
"Respecting the principles of sustainability, i.e. standards in that direction, is also reflected through the certification of services at the international level, such as "blue flag" and "green key", which, in addition to other certificates, have been applied in Montenegro for a long time," they added. are from the Ministry of Tourism.
From that department, they said that it is particularly important, both at the state and local level, to establish and apply the principles of destination management based on sustainability, as well as that at the level of tourism companies, the development of socially responsible business should be continued.
"Given that the concept of sustainability includes ecological, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, a balance between those three dimensions is important," said the Ministry.
They said that the digital transformation of both tourism and tourism-related activities is particularly important.
Climate change, as stated by the Ministry of Tourism, is unstoppable and affects both winter and summer tourism - winters without snow, rainy summers, devastated biodiversity, flooded areas, rising sea levels, loss of beaches.
From that government department, they pointed out that Montenegro is a territorially small country, which makes it possible for a diverse offer to be available to tourists in one day.
"Therefore, the combination of the offer of the coast - the north with the increasingly rapidly growing offer of the central region, along with the proper development and management of the tourist offer with the direction of tourist demand using adequate marketing tools, which is one of the premises of destination management, will enable the minimization of the negative effects of climate change on tourism business ", emphasized the Ministry.
Tourism, on which the Montenegrin economy relies to a great extent, is recognized in the National Plan of Montenegro for adaptation to climate change as one of the sectors in which it is necessary to implement adaptation to climate change.
The Ministry responsible for tourism affairs was actively involved in the process of preparing that document, through work at workshops with representatives of the United Nations Development Program and the Green Climate Fund, as well as other departments that are complementary to tourism.
"The goal is to strengthen Montenegrin capacities in terms of timely recognition of crisis events under the influence of climate change and, on that basis, to establish adequate planning and development programs," said the Ministry.
As they reminded, in addition to the tourism sector, the areas that are vulnerable from the aspect of climate change and which are treated within the framework of the National Plan are the water, agriculture and health sectors.
"For each of them, including tourism, measures to adapt to climate change have been proposed, as well as cross-sectoral measures, given the high degree of their interdependence," the Ministry stated.
They said that this important document was the subject of a public discussion and that the consultants are now incorporating acceptable suggestions and proposals.
"Consequently, it is to be expected that in the near future the final version of the National Plan will be prepared and forwarded to the Government for adoption," said the Ministry of Tourism.
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