Overview

Montenegro’s 300-kilometer-long coastline and its spectacular mountainous north drive the tourism sector, which accounts for almost 30 percent of GDP.  Government sales of formerly state-owned land have spurred a wave of foreign investment in large-scale tourism and hospitality centers.

The market is focused on hotels and resorts along Montenegro’s coast.  Montenegro is working to develop a broader tourist industry based on its abundance of scenic beauty (rural tourism, cultural tourism, and ecotourism) and geographic diversity, including mountains, seacoast, and lakes. 

Montenegrin tourism representatives hope to shift a greater percentage of the tourist trade away from low-revenue package tours into more luxurious and upscale projects.  Montenegro also plans to become a center for business and convention meetings. U.S. companies that specialize in hotel management, theme park development, amusement games and attractions, golf course development, fast food establishments, sports and leisure facilities, casino management and environmental control have excellent opportunities to develop stand-alone tourist facilities or to enhance existing properties.  Several well-known U.S. companies operating in Montenegro’s tourism sector include Hilton, Stratex Group, Hyatt Regency and Crowne Plaza, as a part of the IHG Group.

The best market prospects are for tourism-related equipment, hotel furnishings, and IT equipment.  Water sports, bird watching, horse-back riding and fishing are ripe for development, as well as ports for yachts, beaches, and marinas.  There are also business opportunities for U.S. construction companies, engineering firms, and architects, as modernization projects and/or the construction of new hotels begin.

Web Resources

Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism

Goran Djurovic, Minister

81000 Podgorica, Rimski trg 46 Phone: +382 20 482 303

Web site: https://www.gov.me/en/mek