For editors: figures, images and a direct line

Ten minutes from «Otvoreno o svemu»

On 11 November 2026 editor-in-chief Sabrija Vulić talked by video call with Ljubo Vuljaj and Michael Gehring about the Montenegro Destination Report 2026/27: Budva's short season, what the municipality and hoteliers can do, and why the German-speaking countries are a market with potential. Edited version with English subtitles. With thanks to RTV Budva for the interview and the permission to share it.

Version with German subtitles

Montenegro's hotel beds are only 28 percent occupied across the year

Montenegro Destination Report 2026/27 compares nine tourism destinations on the basis of official MONSTAT data

Montenegro is heading for another strong tourism year. From January to September 2026, the statistical office MONSTAT counted 14.8 million overnight stays, 9.0 percent more than a year earlier. June, July and September were the strongest months of their kind since all accommodation has been counted monthly. At the same time, hotel beds were occupied only 28 percent of the year in 2025. On the coast the figure ranges from 18 to 33 percent.

These are the key findings of the Montenegro Destination Report 2026/27, published by the consultancy Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting. It is the first comparison of the nine destinations that MONSTAT reports separately every month: Budva, Herceg Novi, Bar, Ulcinj, Kotor, Tivat, Podgorica, Kolašin and Žabljak.

Main findings

• Five months carry the year. In Ulcinj, 96 percent of hotel nights fall between May and October, in Bar 93 percent. Only Kolašin and Podgorica are evenly occupied through the year.
• Kotor nearly doubles. Kotor's hotel nights are up 94 percent on 2019. Ulcinj's hotel nights are at the 2019 level; including private accommodation it counts almost a third fewer overnight stays.
• Holiday apartments grow faster than hotels. Two in three overnight stays are in private accommodation. In 2026 hotels are growing by 4.4 percent, the country as a whole by 9.0 percent.
• Markets shift quickly. From January to September 2026, overnight stays from Poland rose by 39 percent and from Germany by 20 percent, while stays from Türkiye fell by 34 percent. Serbia and Russia remain the largest source markets.
• Scorecard: Kolašin comes first. Ranked on six indicators that matter for hotels, Kolašin leads ahead of Podgorica. Budva, Kotor and Tivat share third place.

“The guests are here, but for too few weeks a year. That is where the opportunity lies for hotels and municipalities.”

Ljubo Vuljaj, co-founder of Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting

“Whoever fills April, May and October earns money where beds stand empty today. Every week added at the start or end of the season shows up directly in the result.”

Michael Gehring, co-founder of Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting

The report has 12 pages and can be downloaded free of charge in Montenegrin, English and German at montenegroexperts.me. Data: 2025 final, 2026 provisional up to September. Own analysis by Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting based on official MONSTAT data, not a MONSTAT publication. Free for editorial use with the source “Montenegro Destination Report 2026/27, Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting, based on MONSTAT data”. Charts are available on request.

Press release as PDF: Deutsch · English · Crnogorski

About Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting

Montenegro Experts Hospitality Consulting is the hands-on hotel consultancy for private hotels in Montenegro, with the German-speaking market as its distinguishing strength. It was founded in 2026 by Ljubo Vuljaj, born in Montenegro, graduate sommelier and in hospitality since 2000, and Michael Gehring, a hotel mentor who spent forty years as a hotelier in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Seven programmes support hotels from the operational review through funding and EU standards to training for managers and staff.

More about us

Media enquiries

Write to us and we will arrange the conversation with Ljubo Vuljaj or Michael Gehring.

office@montenegroexperts.me

Languages: Montenegrin · English · German