Tourist season collapses in Montenegro: "Only our diaspora is coming, there are no real tourists"

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There is no tourist season in Montenegro this year, and there is very little interest in travel, the president of the Association of Tourist Agencies of Montenegro, Orhan Hodzic, said today.

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The latest data from the CBCG shows that due to the consequences caused by the coronavirus pandemic, bank accounts of at least four travel agencies in Montenegro have been blocked.

Commenting on that in the morning program of TV Montenegro, Hodzic says that this is only a small number in relation to what travel agencies expect in the coming period, Tanjug is reporting.

"The Ministry of the Interior's cameras located at border crossings show that there are no tourists, there are no tourists on the border with the EU either. Only our people from the diaspora are coming, there are no real tourists. There is no real season, there is very little interest in travel," he said.

He said he toured coastal and cities in the north and saw that "there is no movement."

"We don't have adequate air connections, we don't have cruisers coming, the Port of Kotor is closed, there are no business guides, hoteliers have a minimum of work... nothing concrete is happening that we would be proud of," Hodzic is clear.

Assessing this tourist season as sad, and adding that there are no indications as to how things will proceed, Hodzic pointed out that the sale of airline tickets, arrangements and all other services is being realized at a minimum level.

"The daily changing of travel rules affects the distrust of passengers concerning where they can travel to and that is an obstacle that is difficult to overcome," said Hodzic.

He assessed that reestablishment of air traffic between Montenegro and Serbia is positive, but also insufficient for, as he said, Montenegro to be positioned in a place that belongs to it.

He believes that with the measures to recover the economy, in the part referring to travel agencies, the government helped to the best of its ability.

"We are grateful for that, but all agencies operate with big deficits, loans are given to those who have met conditions but how can they be repaid when there is no turnover. Many agencies don't qualify for loans. And what will be happening from October to May in the period when arrangements and trips are being prepared," Hodzic asked, the RTCG portal reported.

He recalled that this season was expected to be the best so far.

"But the opposite ha happened and it's been destroyed. Everything that has been happening in the last few days is not enough to make any difference. It's good that cafes, restaurants, some hotels work, relative to travel agencies. They only sold domestic capacities," stated Hodzic.

(Telegraf.rs)