According to the Tourism Organisation of Russia, vacation bookings for Montenegro and Croatia indicates that there are two or three times more Russian tourists interested in these destinations compared to last year, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism announced.
Commenting on the campaign launched by the Russian media calling on Russians not to visit our country, the ministry stated the TV shows and articles (if they can really be called “campaign”) were not expected to affect the tourist season and number of tourists from Russia at all.
“Montenegro has been one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the Russian market. It is supported by the data of the National Tourism Organization (NTO), because the current bookings and announcements from the Russian market are even better compared to the previous year, when about 317,000 tourists from Russia visited Montenegro. They accounted for 2.8 million overnight stays, or 4% more than in 2015,” the ministry said.
The ministry argues that at the recently held Moscow International Exhibition Travel & Tourism MITT 2017, Russian tour operators announced an increase in number of flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg and other cities to Montenegro by about 30%.
The ministry added that ICS Travel Group had confirmed that tourist demand for travel arrangements for Montenegro exceeded last year’s indicators.
“At this point, there is no indication that the media reports in Russia may have a negative effect on the visits from that country,” the ministry said.
It pointed out that Montenegro’s tourist offer did not depend on political situation, adding that most European countries at the Mediterranean are NATO member states, which did not prevent Russians or other tourists from visiting them.
