More tourists have visited Montenegro this year, than in 2010. Recent reports from Balkans.com revealed that the little country at the Adriatic Sea has received this August circa 455 185 tourist arrivals, which is a 5.3% boost compared to the same month last year. In the first eight months Montenegro recorded 1,102,639 tourist arrivals, an increase of 7.3% over the same period last year.
With recent news that TUI plans on promoting Montenegro on the UK market in the next 5 years, chances are that we will see a significant boost in 2012 as well. Currently, most tourists arriving in Montenegro come from Serbia (27.9%), Russia (20.3%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (7.6%), Kosovo (3.4%), Ukraine (3.1%), Albania (2.3%), and Poland (2.1%), making Montenegro particularly popular in Eastern Europe.
The aim for the country should be to extend popularity outside the Eastern European border, to Central, Western Europe and beyond. The official Montenegro tourism website already offers in-depth information, however, the presence of the country on social networks and other channels that could drive more tourists, is rather weak.
Recently, Montenegro has been voted a top 1 MICE (Meetings and Incentives) emerging destination for 2011 by Great Hotels of the World (GHOTW). Montenegro was selected mainly for the dramatic growth in the leisure sector over the past few years. It was followed in the Top 10 Emerging Meetings and Incentives Destinations for 2011 by Croatia, South Africa, India, Lisbon (Portugal), Turkey, Greek Islands, Iceland, Sardinia and Seoul (South Korea).