Special edition newsletter
Tourism and hospitality - Meeting new trends
Nina Lakičević, director of TO Tivat - A good season behind us is an incentive, but also a commitment
In the year behind us, Tivat recorded a growth of 16% in the number of tourists and 7% in overnight stays. They are attracted by the fact that this is the sunniest city of Boka Kotorska, but also by the contents that are getting richer every season. However, this city tries to attract visitors all year round, with a special emphasis on festivals and active tourism. The director of TO Tivat, Nina Lakičević, spoke for eKapija about what the past year looked like, but also what awaits us in 2024.
Tivat strives every year to become an attractive tourist destination that lives all 12 months. In this sense, how do you see 2023? Are the expectations met?
- I believe that the year 2023 has fulfilled the expectations of all players in tourism, considering that it is the first year in which the economy returned to normal flows, which were previously shaken by the corona virus epidemic. Some of the representatives of the hoteliers noted record capacity occupancy. This is supported by statistical data derived from the registration of guests` stay recorded in our offices, both in the city center and at other points.
In order not to take the data from the residence tax as the only parameter of success,
in cooperation with the Nina media clipping agency, we also conducted a survey of tourists in which 1,200 respondents highly rated the beauty of nature and the region, the arrangement of the place, ecological preservation, personal safety, hospitality, cleanliness of the beaches, the price-quality ratio, and the content. We are building future steps for the season that is ahead of us on the foundations of the already well-built practice and assessment of the previous season.
How many tourists were there last year and from which countries? Have the new air connections with Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Lithuania opened new markets for tourism promotion?
- In 2023, arrivals grew by 16% and overnight stays by 7% compared to 2022. In the guest structure, the leading places are occupied by guests from Serbia and Russia, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Kingdom.
In 2023, the new airlines operating at Tivat airport opened the way to new markets. As good transport connections are a very important segment when choosing a destination for a guest, we believe that over a certain period, all new lines will have visible results in the structure of guests of the city of Tivat.
(Photo: Miko Đuričić)
What are the plans for this year? Will there be any novelties in the offer?
- The good season that is behind us is an incentive, but also a commitment. The guests` expectations are high, and therefore our ambitions are higher. The preparation of a rich calendar of events for 2024 is underway. In cooperation with the cultural institutions in the city, NGOs, Luštica Bay and Porto Montenegro marinas, we have designed various events for all tastes in order to ensure visitors a pleasant stay in Tivat throughout the year.
This year, more financial resources have been dedicated to the content, i.e. various events: theater performances, music concerts, carnivals, gastronomic events, Mediterranean festivals, festivals, sports events, exhibitions.
The novelty in the city`s summer offer is the "Pearl of the Adriatic" music festival, which will bring together performers from the country and the region, and Tivat will be the center of the fusion of Mediterranean tradition and modern music, translated into songs of light notes. This will be an opportunity for those who are involved in music to realize their dreams through the competition.
Tivat has been declared the best small town to live in Europe, which has attracted eminent magazines. How do you expect this to impact tourism?
- Tivat, as the sunniest city of Boka Kotorska, attracts the sighs of hedonists with its beauty and good location, and is often an address to which they are happy to return. Important resources, the sun and the sea, contribute to Tivat being on the priority list. What is also recognized and something we are proud of is the "label" we received last year, which reads "Tivat, the best small European city to live in in 2023", which is of great importance to us for further positioning on the list of popular European destinations.
Tivat attracts all those who are interested in nautical tourism, sports tourism, luxury tourism, tourism of rural households and agricultural farms, where there is cooperation with Herceg Novi. What is it that arouses the greatest interest? Where do you see the strengths and where are the challenges?
- From year to year, tourists increasingly resort to active vacations, and Tivat is a city that can fully respond to that demand. As a result of large urbanization, active tourism, i.e. escape to nature, has become a global trend.
In Tivat, you can choose to take a walk along the Vrmac hiking trails, ride a bike, or try some water sports. Sailing is something that also makes the city of Tivat recognizable, so we got our Wind Festival, which is a true example of sustainable tourism development.
Designing programs, creating content, investing in the preservation of natural beauty led to the fact that we have enriched our offer through various types of tourism - nautical, cultural, sports, rural, and that today we have guests of various nationalities, status and age groups. Tivat hosts have also always been able to boast of their gastronomic skills.
We attach great importance to cooperation with local tourist organizations both on the coast and in the north of Montenegro. In recent years, the emphasis has been on presenting Boka Kotorska as a unique entity, and we believe that through synergy we can achieve much more if we present ourselves as a unique region of Boka Kotorska.
The challenges we face are, first of all, to answer the question of how to manage the destination, without disturbing the balance between tourism development and preservation of local identity under the pressure of larger goals, then the growing need for infrastructural investments due to the growing number of visitors. One of the related challenges is how to maintain the stability of the economy during the off-season and become a destination that lives 365 days a year.
(Photo: Miko Đuričić)
Tivat is twinned with Novi Sad, Sremski Karlovci and Ub in Serbia, as well as with Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Does this somehow reflect on tourism and the promotion of the tourist offer? Do you see the possibility of creating a joint regional offer?
- As the analysis shows, guests from the region are the most numerous and we believe that the additional connection with certain cities contributes to their visit to Tivat. At the end of March, the Municipality of Tivat will organize "Days of Tivat in Novi Sad", which is also our sister city, where we will present Mediterranean music and traditional gastronomic specialties to Novi Sad with the sound of the sea, the smell of salt and sunny greetings from Tivat.
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"Tourism and hospitality - Meeting new trends"
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