(Photo: National Tourist Organization of Montenegro)
A significant number of guests from the Czech Republic and Slovenia can be expected in Montenegro during the upcoming tourist season, the National Tourist Organization of Montenegro announced.
As part of the participation in the international tourism fair Holiday World in Prague, which takes place from 18 to 20 March, NTOCG, in cooperation with the national airline Air Montenegro, organized a B2B workshop and press conference for tour operators and media from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The conference, attended by some of the most important Czech and Slovak media such as Pravo, novinky.cz, České Kormidlo, Yaht, Tema magazine and others, was an opportunity for Montenegrin representatives to announce a new direct flight of the national airline Air Montenegro on the route Tivat -The threshold, which will be established during the season, every Tuesday and Saturday in the period from June 14 to October 8.
– At the B2B workshop, representatives of the Montenegrin tourism industry held meetings with about thirty tour operators from these markets who expressed significant interest in including Montenegro in their travel programs for the upcoming season, especially given the new airline to Prague, but also good air connection with Slovakia via Vienna – the NTO said in a statement.
The workshop was attended by about 30 representatives of tour operators, including Travel Family, Fisher, Kompas, METRED, Hoška Tour, Best Reisen, Tep Tour, Travel Topinka, Viola Travel, EVENtour, Mefico, Cvok, Touristic travel Prague and others.
Jana Kasanjička from the tour operator Fisher says that she had the opportunity to visit Montenegro.
– I can say that I know that country, but I believe that there are other places that I have not had the opportunity to visit. I will present Montenegro as a tourist destination to my clients, to find out how beautiful it is, which in a small area can offer not only the sea and beaches, but also culture, skiing and much more. I am very glad that today, after two years, we had the opportunity to gather and exchange opinions. It is personally useful for me because I had the opportunity to meet a lot of colleagues and tourism experts from Montenegro. I hope that we will continue with good cooperation, as has been the case so far – said the representative of one of the largest Czech tour operators.
The representative of the tour operator České Kormidlo, Aaneta Autratova, says that they are based in Brno.
– We are here to learn more about Montenegro, because we are interested in taking clients from the Czech Republic to your country because we think there is great potential, and there are not many Czech tourists there. Workshops like this help us get to know and learn more about the partners and we hope to make contacts and start cooperation next year. We have been on the Czech market for almost 19 years and have many clients in Croatia, Italy and Austria. We have some tours in Montenegro, but not organized holidays, which we hope will begin next year – said Autratova.
Miroslav Topinka, a representative of the Travel Topinka agency, says that their clients are children and teenagers and that they are focused on bus travel, and the destinations they work in are Montenegro, Croatia, Spain and Italy.
– It is good that a B2B workshop was organized in Prague and now we have much more tourist information, especially about accommodation for children and private accommodation – says Topinka.
Dejan Pižurica, director of sales and customer support at Air Montenegro, says that they have recognized the potential of this fair.
– I assume that the public is aware that from June 14 we will start with regular flights from Prague to Tivat. When you open a new line, it is very important that you promote it, that people know it, especially at the destination. This idea moved us, and in agreement with the NTO we organized this B2B event, which was attended by over 30 tour operators and agencies. Impressions are positive, we are satisfied and we can say that there is demand from the Czech Republic. We are expecting new tourists who can visit Montenegro during the upcoming season – says Pižurica.
Maja Čuljković from the Stara Čaršija Resort & SPA hotel points out that she talked to many tour operators from the Czech Republic who are very interested in their hotel, precisely because of the line that will be opened between Prague and Tivat, because it will make it much easier for them to get to their facility.
– We met interesting partners, I hope that we will achieve cooperation and that this season will be much better than it was before. Such gatherings are very useful to us, and can contribute to establishing and gaining new contacts in order to overcome these two crisis years – emphasizes Culjkovic.
The promotional event and the Montenegrin stand at the Holiday World fair was visited by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Montenegro in Vienna, Marija Lakić Barfus.
The National Tourist Organization said that the markets of the Czech Republic and Slovakia have great potential for Montenegro as a tourist destination.
– During 2019, our country was visited by about 23,000 tourists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia who spent about 150,000 nights, and the main motive for their arrival in Montenegro is passive rest and relaxation. Some of their favorite destinations are Budva, Bar, Ulcinj, Kotor and Podgorica. The trend is that lately they are opting for a vacation of 4 to 7 days, and that they are no longer satisfied only with sunbathing on the beach, but their vacation increasingly implies nature and activity – it is stated in the announcement.
These are, they add, tourists who mostly choose accommodation in 3 * and 4 * hotels, and since the appearance of the corona virus pandemic, there has been a greater demand for private accommodation.
– Having in mind the improved air accessibility for this season, the fact that Montenegro is among the first European destinations to abolish the certificate of entry into the country, but also the fact that tourists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia mostly choose Mediterranean destinations such as Croatia, Greece and Italy, Montenegro has a great chance to position itself in the coming period as a top holiday destination in these markets – said the NTO.
The promotion will continue in the coming days at the Holiday World fair, whose main organizer is LTO Budva. In addition to the NTO and the national airline Air Montenegro, the local tourist organizations of Kotor, Ulcinj, Herceg Novi, Bar, Tivat, Podgorica and Kolašin and the tourist economy of Montenegro also present their offer.
It is the most important tourism fair, not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the entire Central European region, which brings together over 30,000 visitors and professionals from the tourism industry of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In addition to significant visits of tourists looking for their ideal holiday destination, the added value of the fair is provided by the organization of B2B events called MBM Tourism Prague 2021 where tourism organizations, clusters, travel agencies, hotels and other representatives of the tourism sector have the opportunity to hold meetings with potential business partners.
In addition to Montenegro, among 700 exhibitors from 42 countries, destinations such as Greece, Spain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others are participating this year.
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