Montenegro

Sustainable tourism

With its rich variety of natural attractions, Montenegro has everything necessary to develop a sustainable tourism industry. Many of these attractions, however, have not yet been developed. Others are neither packaged nor marketed properly.

Despite the availability of natural resources, the central and northern areas of the country are currently suffering from a lack of economic development. The regions are seriously impoverished and their inhabitants are migrating en masse. Some of the villages in the countryside are completely deserted. Eighty four percent of Montenegro’s poor live in the central and northern regions of the country. Municipal budgets in the region rarely have room for anything beyond maintaining basic, essential infrastructure.

Making the boom echo in the north

Investment in and development of Montenegro’s economically challenged northern region - which is comprised of diverse mountain ranges, scenic routes, wooded forests, rivers, lakes and rich cultural diversity - as a tourism destination has been extremely limited, despite its potential.

By shifting the focus of tourism promotion to the north, the government would contribute to the economic and social development of the region. Furthermore, it would create and offer a niche service to a well organized, identified and large target audience that is environmentally conscious. It would relieve tourist pressure on infrastructure from the southern region in the six-eight week high season, thereby balancing a seasonal demand and extending the length of its main, high-season by diversifying its offer.

The natural beauty and high biodiversity of Montenegro offers obvious potential and is, according to most competitiveness surveys, Montenegro’s ‘unique selling point’. This presents significant opportunities for the development of experiential or geo tourism, which encompasses nature, heritage, cultural, soft-adventure and related sub-sectors such as rural, community and organic food.

LOHAS

By focusing on its biodiversity, Montenegro will be ideally positioned to attract the ideal tourists, known in the industry as LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability), who spend $1000 to $1500 more per trip than do traditional tourists. They are willing to pay up to 20% more for products made in a sustainable manner and 75% of LOHAS are extremely interested in environmentally responsible travel.

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment has recognized these facts and revised its Tourism Master Plan to shift its focus toward the country’s north and reach out to LOHAS, thanks largely to the efforts of UNDP.

Mojkovac: from toxic hot spot to eco tourism hot spot

Located roughly in the centre of the region, Mojkovac is a perfect launching pad for day trips to numerous hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking etc locations. The effort to sell Mojkovac as an eco tourism hot spot is doubly ambitious because Mojkovac is home to one of nine Western Balkan toxic hot spots that have been targeted for clean up and remediation under UNDP’s Regional Environmental Programme.

Having seen first hand the devastation wrought by heavy industry in the area (lead and zinc mining) the people of Mojkovac have committed themselves to changing their financial fortunes in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner, specifically concentrating on tourism and agriculture.

LOHAS have revealed themselves as being people who are willing to spend more for organic food. The toxic hot spot in Mojkovac is a 19 hectare tailings pond in the centre of town but the rest of the area is otherwise pristine. Soil samples from various locations in the area are currently being analyzed to determine whether or not food products grown in and raised on it will meet the standards set for organic certification. UNDP has already gained commitments from several of the larger hotels along the coast to purchase locally grown and raised food products if they meet organic certification standards. A pilot project is being planned to teach several local farmers how to grow on a commercial scale.

There are five municipalities within Durmitor National Park (including Mojkovac) and all of them can be developed and marketed to tourists who want to be the first to ‘discover’ the rest of Montenegro. LOHAS, who are predominantly urban dwellers, are inclined to be very interested in local customs, traditions and lifestyles. Many will be as thrilled to spend a day on a local farm milking cows and making cheese as they will be in hurtling down a mountainside on a bicycle. And they will pay handsomely for the opportunity.

By land…

UNDP is working with national hiking and biking associations to establish, upgrade and maintain a national network of trails. Pilot projects will be undertaken in 2009 to map and mark trails. Should the pilot prove successful it can be extended throughout the country. Stakeholders are cooperating to establish bylaws concerning the creation of a trail registry and standards of maintenance. National hiking and biking associations will join international federations.

… or water
 
The Tara River will be one of the main attractions promoted in the campaign to draw tourists to Mojkovac and Montenegro’s north. The Tara has UNESCO World Heritage Protection status and has great potential for kayaking, white water rafting and fishing. The river is 124km long and can be kayaked and/or rafted from April - September. A permit costs 75 euros.

WW (white water) ratings go from I-V, with V being the highest or most difficult. The stretch from Kolasin to Mojkovac is 20km and the rapids are rated WW I-III. The stretch from Mojkovac to Devils pass is 14km and rated WW I-II. From Devils Pass to Scepan Plje is 60km and rated WW I-III. The best section, close to Scepan Ploje, has 22 category III rapids in a 19km section. Depending on conditions, some of the rapids close to Mojkovac could rate a V when the river is in flood.

911

The Mountain Rescue Service of Montenegro will be upgraded in 2009, thanks to the efforts of UNDP. The current roster of 20 rescuers will be joined by another 20. All rescuers will be licensed according to international standards. The organization will be provided basic equipment.

Entrepreneurs will become stewards of the land

The first half of the second annual Adventure Race Montenegro (a triathlon that replaces the traditional swimming segment with kayaking) was held in and around Mojkovac in 2008 and was a success both in terms of participants enjoying themselves and also helping to put northern Montenegro on the map for outdoor adventure enthusiasts. 

In fact, one race participant, from Slovenia, was so thrilled with the potential of the area that he became the first foreigner to establish a business partnership with locals to attract outdoor enthusiasts. The fact that the Slovenian recognizes the potential is a very important morale boost for the locals who can be doubtful about the push to transform the town from a toxic hot spot to an eco tourism hot spot.

The project will need to generate excitement from the locals if it is to succeed. In terms of accommodation infrastructure needed to develop tourism, the plan is to encourage locals to upgrade neglected or abandoned houses, rather than building large hotels. The idea is to create a whole new breed of entrepreneurs in the area, not only in the accommodation sector of the industry but in all aspects including dining, outfitting, guiding etc. Doing so would assure that tourism money brought into the area would stay in the area, rather than going back into the bank accounts of foreign investors who are often the only ones that can afford to develop large scale tourism facilities and businesses.

If and when locals become eco tourism entrepreneurs they will simultaneously become stewards of the environment because they will have a vested interest in doing so. Large scale industrial projects will be seen as anathema to the financial interests of the region. Overtures to exploit the area’s natural resources for industrial purposes will be carefully scrutinized. Locals will also see the undeniable advantages of cleaning the garbage that is strewn around the area, particularly along the banks of the Tara River. Entrepreneurs will also demand that the municipal and national governments do what is needed to build and sustain their industry, thus bringing the new concept of participatory democracy home to them.

For more information…

Building a GIS that contains all the information tourists want and need is essential to the effort and UNDP will be contracting students to tour the area gathering and inputing all important information into the system. For instance, the regional municipality of Mojkovac contains 14 separate, distinct villages, all of which would be of interest tourists, especially LOHAS. Today, a tourist would be hard pressed to find those villages. Conversely, with the information of their existence in their hands, tomorrow’s tourist will be willing to hire a guide to tour them through the villages.

In 2008 UNDP compiled an electronic map of Durmitor National Park. The map shows trails, peaks, valleys, biodiversity hot spots, panoramic viewpoints, rivers etc. Because of this, visitors to the park can now select hiking and biking routes specifically tailored to their desires.

Underground economy

Taking a queue from their regional neighbours in Slovenia, the residents of Mojkovac are now seriously contemplating transforming the abandoned mine into a mining museum and mountain biking adventure park. UNDP organized a tour to the Slovenian facility that provides a blueprint for such an enterprise for representatives of the municipality, entrepreneurs and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Although it is still long way away from becoming a reality, should it come to fruition the effort would be the crowning achievement in the effort to transform what was once a source of environmentally degrading revenue into a source of environmentally friendly revenue for the people of Mojkovac.