Economic analyst, Mr Predrag Drecun, in an interview with Dnevne Novine daily says the national airline – Montenegro Airlines (MA) – must exist, that there are many indirect effects this company has on tourism, i.e. on the overall Montenegrin economy, and it’s also contributing to the image of the country so it’d be good to develop a methodology for measuring all the effects this company has on our economy.
Answering the question about the support that the national airline obtained thanks to the govt’s decision on its consolidation, Mr Drecun emphasizes that it’s a fact that MA has no possibilities to increase the scope of its services in order to become a stable, profitable company, and it should be perceived, for some time, as every other budget unit.
“Many state costs do not bring benefits greater than these costs and no one is commenting that. The existence of MA has other important dimensions of significance difficult to be seen and, consequently, even more difficult to be measured. MA planes are seen across Europe, millions of passengers see it in the airports and it’s a free ad for the country. Tens and tens of thousands of foreigners will come to Montenegro just because MA exists. Hotels will have a higher level of attractiveness. There are many indirect effects which can be measured with a lot of precision,” Mr Drecun says.
He also touches on the next year’s budget, concession for the airports, challenges ahead of Montenegro … by stressing the importance of investments.
“If there are no investors, there are no jobs. And no workers. Today, every employer is a hero. Although many think employers are thieves, they are heroes, because they hire people … That’s what we need. We must not drive investors away.”
