We have a good foundation when it comes to preparing for the season ahead. Preparations are underway for a rich calendar of events, through which we will work towards ensuring our visitors have an enjoyable stay throughout the entire year,” announces ToT’s Nina Lakičević
Some would suggest that it must be easy for you as the head of the Tourist Organisation of Tivat, given that it’s a thriving tourism spot where something is always happening. Would they be right?
― It isn’t easy at the helm of the tourist organisation of a city that has already become a tourism brand and that entices tourists from different parts of the world with its beauty.
The function of director demands the harmonising of strategies and management, coordinating with local partners and making key decisions when it comes to promotions and advancing the development of the city. A positive aspect is that I can use tourism contents to direct activities towards the direction in which I think the city should develop, while a negative aspect is that tastes differ and so criticism is also inevitable.
I think that the offer is extremely important for small towns, because that’s one of the segments with which you “convince” guests to extend their stay and make return visits. Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy and is certainly among the most challenging when it comes to changes and the continuous adjusting of work requirements throughout the year.
You launched preparations for this summer season with great ambitions. What novelties do you have ready for guests?
― We generated record high revenues from the collection of accommodation and tourist taxes last year. We also recorded a 16% increase in arrivals and a 7% increase in overnight stays compared to 2022. In order to gain broader insights when it comes to evaluating our work, and for numbers not to be the only measure of our success, a survey was conducted by a professional agency. Surveyed visitors gave high ratings to the beauty of nature and the local area, as well as the picturesque qualities and orderliness of the town, the level of environmental preservation, personal safety, hospitality, the cleanliness of the beaches, the ratio of price to quality, cultural contents etc. This provides a good foundation for us when it comes to preparing for the season ahead.
The good season that we’ve left behind represents motivation, but also an obligation, because guests’ expectations are at an enviable level, and that in turn elevates our own ambitions
The good season that we’ve left behind represents motivation, but also an obligation, because guests’ expectations are at an enviable level, and that in turn elevates our own ambitions. Preparation are underway for a rich calendar of events, through which we will – in cooperation with other cultural institutions in the city, NGOs, and the marinas of Luštica Bay and Porto Montenegro – work towards ensuring our visitors have an enjoyable stay throughout the entire year.
You aim to make Tivat a year-round tourist destination. How can you extend the season?
― When it comes to the offer beyond the peak summer months, we are favoured by the fact that Tivat is the sunniest spot in the Bay of Kotor and that it has the very important assets of sunshine and the sea. The promotion of active tourism, cultural and sporting events, gastronomic tours and adventure excursions, as well as investments in infrastructure that encompass accommodation capacities, roads, trails, beaches and public facilities, represent just part of all the things we’ve been working on intensively for some time already.
The extending of the season is achieved as a result of various strategies and requires certain resources. We are delighted that, through various forms of tourism – nautical, cultural, sports, rural – we’ve achieved a guest structure that includes a wide array of different nationalities, social statuses and age groups.
