Balkan Business Brief

What problems are hotels in Montenegro suffering?

The sale of a large number of hotels, apartments, and villas in Montenegro has been advertised on real estate websites, indicating that the country's economy, which heavily relies on and generates significant revenues from tourism, is not in an enviable state. The media cites the long-term mismanagement of Montenegro as a destination as a potential problem. Additionally, the tourism and urban planning policy of building a large number of individual and private accommodations, which now account for almost 90% of the accommodation capacity, has proven to be insufficient in quality and misguided. Hoteliers also face additional problems due to the uncertainty regarding which market Montenegro will target and present itself as a tourist destination. Furthermore, the significant increase in prices raises concerns about the profitability of accommodation for hoteliers. However, given these conditions, it is unlikely that the offers will bear fruit, and the sales will be realized.

While hoteliers on the coast face the aforementioned problems, hoteliers in the north are grappling with a lack of infrastructure. As part of the economic citizenship project, nine luxury hotels are being built in Kola?in, but investors face the challenge of putting these hotels into operation because they do not have the necessary infrastructure. The municipality of Kola?in highlights that there are no funds available for infrastructure works and proposes that the government distributes funds based on economic citizenship to provide a solution.

Montenegro launches anti-inflationary basket to combat rising prices and protect consumers

Montenegro's Ministry of Economic Development has launched a initiative, the "STOP INFLATION" campaign, in response to the concerning rise in inflation and decline in citizens' living standards. The campaign involves the creation of an anti-inflationary basket consisting of 25 types of products that are essential for daily living. The Ministry has collaborated with trade chains to ensure that the selected products are widely available and affordable to all. Under the campaign, each item in the anti-inflationary basket must meet strict quality standards and retail and wholesale margins cannot exceed 5%. Traders are free to choose the specific item for each product type, and any product that is expired, damaged, or of lower quality than the average is not allowed. The traders have the option to expand the list of products included in the anti-inflationary basket and set prices in accordance with the previous agreement. In stores, products included in the anti-inflationary basket are labeled in a distinctive way. Additionally, the Ministry has launched a promotional campaign to support the participating trade chains. The Ministry has also urged other business entities, particularly pharmaceutical companies and distributors, to join the action. The "STOP INFLATION" campaign has aims to alleviate the inflationary pressures that citizens are facing in Montenegro. Considering that the inflation rate for February 2023 in Montenegro was 15.1%, do you think the "STOP INFLATION" campaign is enough to make a significant difference in the standard of living for citizens?

Albania improves the position of digital nomads and the startup ecosystem

Albania strives to improve the position of digital nomads and the startup ecosystem, and to that end, it has made changes to legislation and adopted special strategies. When it comes to the startup ecosystem, Albania has established the State Agency for the Support and Development of Startups. The agency will be directly in charge of monitoring events on the startup scene in Albania and managing the startup ecosystem. It is known that one of the key collaborators and decision-makers will be the non-profit organization STRATUP ALBANIA, which has been playing a significant role on this scene for a long time. STARTUP ALBANIA, as a management unit, will have the obligation to monitor the implementation of support measures and undertake appropriate procedures in case of abuse. In addition to the convenience and improvement of Albania's startup ecosystem, it continues to continuously work on improving the conditions for digital nomads. The term digital nomad in the legislation has now been changed to digital mobile worker. A particularly relieving fact is that digital nomads in Albania will be relieved of the fiscal burden, that is, they will not have the status of tax residents.

How Croatian wine become ranked among the top in world

One of the most influential wine magazines from the USA, Wine Enthusiast, rated the Ernest Tolj Dingac wine from the Croatian winery Saints Hills with 99 out of a possible 100 points. According to the rating by the American magazine, the wine is ranked among the top in the world, and only a small number of world wineries can be given a similar rating. The recognition for this company is even more significant when you consider that it is an autochthonous variety, a manual selection of grapes and when you consider the specific processing process. The whole story is characterized by humanity. Ernest Tolj Dingac presents a limited series of humanitarian wine and all the money from the sale is donated to neglected children. Wine Enthusiast will enable the sale of works of the limited series on its website, which will allow the Croatian winery to realize its humanitarian mission faster.