Montenegro’s tourism decline: Budva faces significant drop in market share

Published on 4. March 2025., News

Unfortunately, after 20 years, Montenegrin tourism is experiencing a decline. And, as I would say, it is a significant drop, stated Petar Odžić, President of the Budva Municipal Assembly.

“What we’ve been warning about for the past six months is now happening, and it’s high time we draw lessons from it and focus on better tourism promotion, improved air accessibility, and certainly preparing the seasons in a timely manner,” Odžić emphasized in a statement for Media Biro.

According to him, the last two seasons in Budva were not properly prepared.

“It could be said that the political crisis that hit the city also caused a crisis in tourism. As you know, there were no temporary locations, beach tenders were not completed, and cleanliness was not at a satisfactory level. I believe these are all issues we need to address in the next term and dedicate ourselves to tourism. I fear that Budva, after ten years, is experiencing a huge drop in overall turnover when it comes to Montenegro,” Odžić added.

Budva, he pointed out, used to account for almost 60% of Montenegro’s total tourism turnover, but now it stands at around 38%. According to him, this clearly indicates that Budva is losing its importance in tourism year by year.

“I believe we must once again become competitive – first, in relation to our cities, and then to the region, if we want tourism to remain the main economic sector in Montenegro,” Odžić concluded.