Montenegro Seeks to Lure More Russian Tourists

Montenegro's tourism business is gearing up for the summer, expecting more Russian tourists than in previous years.

On Thursday, the tourism authorities presented the country's offer at the largest Moscow travel and tourism fair, MITT, saying that, "trends show that more Russian tourists are interesting to visit Montenegro."

"Russian tourists are known for late booking, but also for the fact that in recent years more and more of them come individually. Guests from Russia visit Montenegro mostly during the summer months," the National Tourism Organization said in a statement.

It noted that, compared to ten years ago, the number of the Russian tourist in Montenegro had doubled by 2017.

While the coastal town of Budva, dubbed "Moscow on the sea" has a large number of Russian tourist each year, Russian tourism agencies are interested also in other Montenegrin resorts, such as Kotor, Herceg Novi and Bar.

The head of the Herceg Novi's tourism organization, Pavle Obradovic, said on Thursday several Russian tour operators who exhibited at the Moscow fair were interested in the town's offer.

To back up the business, the national air carrier, Montenegro airlines, also announced more flight to Moscow and St Petersburg, starting from March 25.

In addition to the regular flights of Russian airlines during the year, additional flights to Montenegro have been announced during the summer season.

Montenegro's once close relations with Russia have cooled markedly since Podgorica joined Western sanctions against Moscow in 2014 over the crisis in Ukraine and since it joined NATO.

Relations become even tenser last October when Montenegro said Russians stood behind an alleged coup attempt, aimed at overthrowing the pro-Western...