Longer stays, richer experiences, higher value: how data is rewriting Montenegro’s tourism playbook
Speaking on the main stage of the Game Changer Montenegro Festival in Tivat, Jelena Sretenović, Country Manager for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro at Mastercard, set out a simple but powerful idea: the future of Montenegro’s tourism will be written with data. Sharing the panel “Swipe Right on Montenegro: How Data & Technology Are Matching International Travelers to Their Dream Destination” with Ivana Bulatović of the Ministry of Tourism of Montenegro, Jovan Ristić of the Tourist Organization of Kotor and Marko Cus of Cable Car Kotor, she presented the headline findings of Mastercard’s latest Tourism Insights study for Montenegro.
“Today, thanks to the data and insights at our disposal, we have a much clearer understanding of who visits Montenegro and what they expect from their journeys. Travel has changed, and the traveler has changed with it – we see it in the data every day. Across Europe, people are choosing experiences over things, and they are looking for value, authenticity and effortless convenience. The destinations that win will be the ones that truly understand their travelers and act on it”, stressed Jelena Sretenović at the panel.
FROM ASSUMPTIONS TO EVIDENCE
Montenegro is at an inflection point – moving from a seasonal coastal favorite toward a premium, year-round destination competing with the best of the Mediterranean. Drawing on anonymized and aggregated transaction data, as well as insights from the Mastercard Economics Institute, the latest Mastercard Tourism Insights study offers a detailed view of international visitor spending patterns across Montenegro. The analysis covers the full year 2025 and spans 11 key source markets, with insights into destinations including Budva, Kotor and Herceg Novi, as well as inland locations such as Žabljak and Kolašin.
Sretenović pointed out that growth is no longer about more arrivals; instead, it is about understanding travelers better: longer stays, richer experiences, higher value. “The data insights do not just describe our visitors,” she said. “They tell us exactly which lever to pull in each market – whether the opportunity is to bring more of them, or to help them stay longer and spend more.”
THE CORRIDORS IN FOCUS – MONTENEGRO’S QUIET CHAMPIONS
At the heart of the findings are three source markets: the Netherlands, Poland and France. All three are growing steadily in both visits and spend, and all three stay longer than the average visitor, yet each accounts for barely 2-3% of total visits. “They already love Montenegro,” Sretenović noted. “There are simply too few of them – and that is exactly why they are the corridors where every euro invested delivers the greatest return.”
The three behave differently, and the data insights are precise about each. The Netherlands records the longest stays in the entire study and an 18% rise in spend in a year, yet holds just 3% of visits – so every additional, higher-value Dutch visitor translates directly into more spend. Poland is growing in visits with above-average stays but lower spend per card, so the opportunity is to enrich the visit: more experiences, more reasons to spend, more days. And France offers the biggest volume upside of all – above-average stays and spend up 14%, but only 2% of visits, so every new visitor moves the needle.
Beyond the focus corridors, the data insights point to a clear roadmap for the season ahead:
🟨 A clear traveler profile. Montenegro’s typical visitor is a couple aged 35-44, with families close behind – almost entirely leisure-driven, and naturally inclined to travel in September, spring and over long weekends, making them the natural extenders of the season.
🟨 A shift in behavior. Restaurants have overtaken hotels as the No. 1 spend category – a clear signal that gastronomy and experiences are now the key drivers of value.
🟨 A premium engine. The Bay of Kotor leads all regions in year-over-year spend growth, with Herceg Novi delivering the longest stays and the highest spend per card, and Kotor and Herceg Novi serving as natural off-peak anchors.
🟨 A reputation to build on. Overall tourist satisfaction stands at an excellent 92.4 out of 100 and rising, with the perception of security at 96.3 – a strong platform for year-round storytelling.
FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION:
A CROSS-BORDER CAMPAIGN
The research is not an end in itself. Developed in partnership with the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, Mastercard is translating these insights directly into a cross-border marketing campaign designed to attract the right travelers, extend the season beyond its two-month summer peak, and position Montenegro, and especially Boka Kotorska and Kotor, as a flagship destination.
The campaign targets the two main outbound corridors the data insights flagged as highest-potential – the Netherlands and Poland – supported by the key regional markets of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At its heart is a curated set of exclusive benefits and Priceless Experiences – Mastercard’s way of turning data into real, unforgettable moments. The destination’s standout experiences – from the Kotor Cable Car and the Kotor Art festival to premium gastronomy at Trattoria Rosmarino, a “JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs” member in Perast – anchor the campaign on the ground, bringing it to life through carefully selected moments designed for Mastercard cardholders.
“Everything we do is based on data and insights. Our research doesn’t sit in a drawer, it is the plan,” Sretenović said. “We have proof this model works: in Croatia, our cross-border campaign with the national tourist board generated 8.1 million impressions and over 300,000 clicks in a single summer. Montenegro is now in the same position and with the data insights we have, we can be even more targeted and effective.”
And this is not a plan for some distant season: as the panel takes the stage, that very campaign is already live across the region – reaching travelers in the focus corridors and ready to welcome them the moment they arrive in Montenegro from July.
NATIONAL TOURISM
ORGANIZATION
OF MONTENEGRO
“Montenegro stands out for its exceptional diversity of natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and authentic experiences that leave a lasting impression on visitors. We are therefore pleased that, through our partnership with Mastercard, we will be able to further showcase these values to international guests and inspire them to discover their next unforgettable story in Montenegro “– stated PhD Ana Tripković Marković, Director of NTO Montenegro.
As the panel closed, Sretenović framed the year ahead in a single line: “Decide with data, not with assumptions. Montenegro has everything it takes, and Mastercard will be there as a partner every step of the way.”
