Country Guide to Montenegro
- Area: 14,000 sq km
- Population: 630,500 (2004)
- GDP: $1.125 billion (2005 est.)
- GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $3,800 (2005 est.)
- Main resorts: Palanga, Nida, Juodkrantė
- Major Airports: Podgorica, Tivat
- Flight Time from UK: 2h 40min (Tivat)
- Time: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October)
Overview
Montenegro became the world's latest sovereign state in 2006 when its population voted for independence, bringing an end to Serbian domination.
Now this tiny republic, undoubtedly one of Europe’s hidden treasures, plans to put itself firmly back on the map.
Many Montenegrins see their country as the future Switzerland of the Balkans - a small but manageable land, with the strategic location on trade routes, and with a great potential for economic prosperity. Montenegro is now a country ripe for foreign direct investment, with an emerging property market exuding serious potential.
Over half of Montenegro comprises mountains and high pasture valleys with over 35 lakes and the World’s largest clean water gorge. They also have 117 sandy beaches, dramatic fjords and ski resorts. The republic is anxious to market its tourist industry to aid its developing economy. The service sector makes up 53.5% of GDP in 2002. The winters are short and mild and summers usually long and dry with average temperatures in the coastal belt in July averaging 23C to 25C.
Tourist Industry
With stunning inland lakes and mountains which sweep down to an un-spoilt coastline on the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro's biggest resource is it’s scenic beauty. Not surprisingly therefore, tourism is planned to be the basis of the country’s economic revival.
Montenegro's tourism and transport infrastructure is underdeveloped and, more than a decade after the collapse of Communism, economic restructuring is slow to take hold. Even so, some progress has been made. Last year Montenegro pulled out of the Dinar zone and now uses only the Deutschmark as its official currency. In effect it handed currency control to stronger outside forces. Next year it will switch to the Euro.
Number of tourists
Total income from tourism (in mil. €)
Income from foreign tourists (in mil. €)
A World Travel and Tourism Council’s report forecasts that Montenegro will become the Fastest Growing Travel & Tourism Economy in the World with
predicted annualised real growth for the next decade, and a growth rate of 10.2% for the period from 2007–2016.
Furthermore, Montenegro has a pedigree in terms of tourism appeal. The likes of Sophia Loren, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor took their holidays in Montenegro many years ago, and it’s only a matter of time before direct flights come and then the tour operators will follow.
Property Market
Since independence Montenegro is actively pursuing membership of the World Trade Organisation, it is working with the European Commission to get a Stabilization and Association agreement in place for the eventual accession of the nation to full EU membership, it has attracted some serious inward foreign direct investment especially into its fledgling tourism industry and in October the chairman, CEO and founder of one of the largest real estate investment trusts listed on the NYSE agreed terms with the government to buy and totally redevelop a former ship yard into a tourism and real estate haven in a small coastal town in Montenegro called Tivat.
The Russian’s are coming, as are the Scandinavians and now American, British and Irish interest in property in Montenegro is starting to push prices up. Thanks to the new James Bond movie the wider world can see just how stunningly beautiful and diverse the countryside is in Montenegro – there are beaches, lakes, mountains and enough character properties ripe for renovation to have even the most cautious investor tentatively interested – add to this the fact the government actually seems to want overseas property buyers making their move on the market and that the buying process can be straightforward for new builds and you have a market as ripe for expansion as any.
Official records on property sales only began in 2006. However between 2004 and the end of 2005, certain areas in Montenegro experienced as much as 20%-30% capital appreciation.
Property prices are not as low as you might expect for a ‘new’ market, particularly on the coast, where properties and land are highly prized by the locals. Coastal properties are approximately a third lower than in Croatia, whereas further south and inland they are fairly comparable to the Bulgarian prices. Some much sought after locations such as Sveti Stefan or the UNESCO protected coastal town of Perast are in reality very close to prices in Croatia.