According to Montenegro’s economist Miloš Vuković, the recovery of the country’s tourism and tourism sector, both quantitatively and qualitatively, will take at least three to five years.
In this tourist season in Montenegro, due to the coronavirus pandemic, revenue is almost 90 percent lower than last year.
According to Vuković’s estimates, tourism revenues next year will amount to 30 to 50 percent compared to last year, since current information suggests that mass vaccination will only be completed at the end of September.
The tourism-dependent country has been hit hard by the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, and according to relevant organizations, it will experience the largest economic decline in the region.
“The tourism and travel sectors, which make up the lion’s share of Montenegro’s economy, have been hit especially hard,” Vuković said.
According to the Central Bank (CBCG), from the beginning of the year until the end of September, revenue from foreign tourists amounted to 100 million euros, while in the same period last year it was 978 million euros.
How dependent Montenegro is on tourism is best shown by the data of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which Vuković cites, according to which the sector’s contribution to the economy is 32.1 percent, or 1.76 billion dollars.
The same is true of tourism and travel’s overall contribution to employment. According to Vuković, 66.9 thousand people, or 32.8% of the total number of employees in Montenegro, depend on tourism, which accounts for a third of the country’s economy.