Montenegro Emerging as Europe’s Tourist Hotspot
The tiny nation of Montenegro, one of Europe’s newest countries, has been attracting the attention of both holidaymakers and large-scale real estate investors in recent years. Developers are building golf resorts, marinas and residential and hotel resorts aimed at a sophisticated international audience who are attracted to the natural beauty and easy accessibility of this Balkan country.
Montenegro, dubbed the Pearl of the Mediterranean, lies south of Croatia and north of Albania. It is small in size – just 14,000km² with a population of 650,000 – but big on beauty with mountains, canyons and stone Venetian architecture. Inland there are five National Parks, ski resorts and the Balkans’ largest lake and deepest canyon but it is the slim and rocky Adriatic coastline, extending just under 300kms and in particular the waters of UNESCO Heritage site Kotor Bay that is attracting most international attention.
Back in the 1960s the region was something of a celebrity hangout, popular with stars including Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor but the Balkan Conflict of the 1990s marked the end of that era. After years of destruction, modern Montenegro was created in 2006 from part of the former Yugoslavia and Serbia and today the country, which uses the euro as its currency, has applied to join NATO and the EU.
Tourism in Montenegro has increased hugely in recent years, with visitors from across Europe and Russia helping to make tourism the fastest growing economic sector in the country with revenues rising 17% annually. The latest data form the World Travel and Tourism Council placed Montenegro at the top of a list of 184 countries for predicted tourism growth over the coming decade.
International brands have taken note of this allure and acted on it. Mighty Asian-based hotel company Aman opened their vive star 188-suite resort on the small island of Sveti Stefan in 2009, transforming the former fifteenth century fisherman’s homes into an oasis of simplicity and beauty with night room charges from €700. Last year, leading tennis player Novak Djokovic chose the resort as the venue for his summer wedding in the country.
In August 2014 Regent Hotel in Porto Montenegro became the second five-star international brand to open and will be joined in the coming years by One & Only and Four Seasons.
Montenegro has plenty to interest second homeowners seeking waterfront properties with the outstanding beauty of Kotor Bay, with its glassy waters surrounded by brooding dark mountains – Montenegro means ‘Black Mountains’ – and it’s the perfect location for boating and sailing activities. Meanwhile the country’s position in the Mediterranean provides thousands of islands to the north and south to explore as well as Venice, Corfu and Croatia within a short distance.
Porto Montenegro’s marina is a hugely popular destination for property investors in the country. The marina has more than 400 berths including space to moor the world’s longest yacht and plans for another 70 super-yacht berths by the end of the year. There is a newly opened Regent Hotel, seven residential blocks with over 200 apartments, a tennis club, sports facilities including pools and a gym together with a range of smart shops and restaurants.
Montenegro’s government are taking steps to stimulate the property market with a range of measures including the abolishment of all buying costs on new-build property. Resale homes meanwhile incur a 3% property tax to avoid the pre-recession days of escalating property prices, driven by the consistent popularity for older Venetian-style stone houses in prime areas.
Kiernan Kelleher, managing director of Savills associates Dream Estates Montenegro said: " To really delve into the market, it is important to know that there are two distinct breeds: the shiny, spanking new apartments at Porto Montenegro or Lŭstica Bay for instance which sell for over €5,000/m2 and the traditional perfect stone houses and apartments which dot Kotor Bay ".
" There is still excellent value to be had on the coast whether you want to dock your big yacht next to your penthouse or get out your paint scraper and renovate an older beauty, " Kelleher continued.
" Both are still priced well below more established destinations and experts forecast continued growth in Montenegro as additional 5-star hotels, the lifeblood of any property market we say, are introduced. Phase One of Montenegro’s transformation into a world-class, high-end tourism and property destination is complete ".
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
