According to Serbian Economist, the island hotel Sveti Stefan near Budva, which is iconic for Montenegrin tourism, may resume operations by May 1, 2026, after many years of inactivity, as the Montenegrin government and the complex’s tenant, Adriatic Properties, are close to reaching an agreement on its reopening.
According to the draft agreement, existing contracts with the tenant and Aman Resorts will remain in force, the parties waive their claims in arbitration proceedings, and each party bears its own costs in London, with the exception of Adriatic Properties’ obligation to compensate Sveti Stefan Hotels for approximately £50,800 previously paid to the arbitration court.
A key element of the project is the obligation of the tenant and Aman to prepare the complex for opening no later than May 2026, with the lease term extended for another four years to compensate for the period of downtime and lost revenue.
A separate section sets out obligations to work with the local community: priority employment for residents of Budva and Paštrovici, purchasing products from local producers, regular fairs for local goods, educational and scholarship programs for young people, and year-round tours of the region. A new advisory body, tentatively called the “Bankada Council,” will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of these points and will report annually to the government. It may be headed by Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, which, according to Vijesti sources, will give the project additional publicity and credibility.
According to media reports, Djokovic has been acting as an informal mediator between the Montenegrin government, Aman Resorts, and Adriatic Properties in the dispute over Sveti Stefan since early 2025 and is discussing the possibility of participating in the project as an investor and representative of the Aman hotel chain.
The Sveti Stefan complex, which includes the island hotel of the same name, the Milocer villa, and the adjacent beaches, has been closed since 2021 amid a conflict between the state and the tenant over beach access and guest privacy.
Sveti Stefan is a historic fortified island village on the Adriatic coast a few kilometers from Budva, which was transformed in the mid-20th century into an elite resort where European monarchs, world politicians, and Hollywood actors vacationed over the years. In 2007, the Montenegrin government signed a 30-year lease agreement for the Sveti Stefan-Milocer complex with Adriatic Properties, a company linked to Greek businessman Petros Stathis, and operational management was transferred to Singapore-based luxury operator Aman Resorts. In 2015, the lease was extended until 2049, with the annual rent reduced to approximately €1.1 million.
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The Tourist Organization of Tivat recorded an increase in tourist traffic over the first nine months of 2025, the organization said at a press conference. According to TOT, 125,000 tourist arrivals were registered in Tivat over eight months, which is 4% more than in the same period of 2024. The total number of overnight stays reached 1.05 million, reports the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist.”
The most numerous guests were tourists from Serbia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Germany, and Israel, with a noticeable increase in the number of travelers from the United States, said TOT director Nina Lakičević.
According to TOT surveys, most tourists in Tivat are high-income visitors. Around 60% of visitors had returned to Tivat more than twice, while for one third of tourists it was their first visit, but the majority plan to come again.
The tourism sector remains a key driver of Montenegro’s economy, accounting for around 25% of the country’s GDP. In 2025 there has been recovery and growth after the difficult years of 2020–2021, with a gradual shift of focus from mass tourism to sustainable and high-end tourism.
According to Monstat and the Ministry of Tourism, Montenegro received more than 2.4 million tourists in January–September 2025, which is 6% more than a year earlier. The country is seeing growing investment in high-class hotels, yachting and gastronomic tourism (including projects in Porto Montenegro, Luštica Bay, and Budva).
Experts note that further growth will depend on modernization of infrastructure, transport accessibility, development of regional airports, and eco-certification of accommodation facilities.
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The European Commission is considering tightening the conditions for Russian citizens to obtain Schengen tourist visas. At present, short-term visas continue to be issued to Russians in 17 Schengen countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France.
Among the measures under consideration are:
– increasing the processing time for visa applications from the current 10 to 15 days, with the possibility of extending it to 45 days,
– introducing stricter controls on document compliance and strengthening measures against abuse.
As part of the preparation of a new, 19th package of sanctions against Russia, a clause on a complete ban on the issuance of Schengen tourist visas is being discussed — the proposed option may be included in the package, which is expected to be presented on September 12.
The main impetus for this initiative is the sharp increase in the number of tourist trips by Russians to Schengen countries in the summer months of 2025, which raises concerns about the possible use of tourist trips to prepare malicious actions within the EU.
In 2024, Russians submitted about 606,600 applications for Schengen visas and received about 552,600 visas, an increase of 16-21% compared to the previous year.
Russia ranked fifth in the world in terms of the number of Schengen visas obtained, behind only China, Turkey, India, and Morocco.
Representatives of the tourism sector paid UAH 1 billion 613 million in taxes to the state budget in January–June 2025, which is 29% more than in the same period of 2024, according to the press service of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine.
According to the head of the State Agency for Tourism Development, Natalia Tabaka, in addition to inflationary factors, the growth is explained by the revival of domestic tourism. In particular, the number of taxpayers is also growing: as of the first half of 2025, the number of registered business entities operating in the tourism sector exceeded 14,500, which is 5% more than in the same period last year.
Hotels remain among the leading taxpayers, accounting for 71% of total revenue, or UAH 1.144 billion. For comparison, in 2024, this amount was UAH 809 million, in 2023 – UAH 570 million, and in pre-war 2021 – UAH 665 million.
Tour operators paid almost UAH 195 million in the first half of this year (UAH 165 million in the first half of 2024 and UAH 88 million in 2023).
Travel agencies paid UAH 153 million in the first half of the year, which is 49% more than in the same period of 2024.
Recreation centers and children’s camps paid more than UAH 92 million, 18% more than last year.
As for the tourist tax, local budgets received more than UAH 142.5 million in the first half of 2025, which is 34% more than in the same period last year. The number of tourist tax payers also increased: from 4,945 in the second quarter of 2024 to 5,717 in the second quarter of 2025.
The top five regions in terms of tourist tax revenue are Kyiv (UAH 33.6 million), Lviv region (UAH 26.5 million), Ivano-Frankivsk region (over UAH 22 million), Zakarpattia region (almost UAH 12 million), and Kyiv region (UAH 7.5 million).
International tourism revenues rose 11% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, to $1.7 trillion, the UN World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) reported on Tuesday.
“We are seeing significant growth in tourism revenues across many destinations in early 2025. The average expenditure per international trip in 2024 was $1,170, which is almost 20% higher than the pre-pandemic average of $1,000,” the report said.
According to the organization, Spain, the world’s second-largest tourist destination, reported a 9% increase in tourism revenues in the first two months of 2025 (compared to the same period in 2024). In the Southern Mediterranean region of Europe, Turkey (+7%), Greece, Italy, and Portugal (all three countries saw 4% growth) showed good results in the first quarter. France recorded a 6% increase in international tourism revenues, Norway 20%, and Denmark 11%.
According to UN Tourism, the growth in tourism revenues in Asia was even more noticeable. In Japan, it amounted to 34% in the first quarter, in Nepal – 18%, in South Korea and Mongolia – 14% each.
The United States, which has the highest tourism revenues in the world, reported a 3% increase in January-March 2025.
“Revised data show that total international tourism export revenues (revenues and passenger transport) grew by 11% (in real terms) and reached a record US$2 trillion in 2024, which is about 15% higher than the pre-pandemic level. This is about 6% of total global exports of goods and services and 23% of global trade in services,” the report says.
According to UN Tourism, the growth in international tourism revenues in 2024 is linked to increased spending on overseas travel in the United Kingdom (+16% compared to 2023), Canada (+13%), the United States (+12%), Australia (+8%), and France (+7%). Travelers from China, the world’s largest spender on foreign tourism, spent 30% more abroad in 2024 than a year earlier and 3% more than before the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia (+17%), Spain (+14%), Belgium (+14%), the Netherlands (+13%) and Austria (+11%) also reported growth in travel spending.
Revenues from tourism can grow tenfold if a new law on tourism is adopted and market transparency is ensured, said Mariana Oleskiv, head of the State Agency for Tourism Development (DART), at a reporting press conference.
“Over the five years of DART’s existence, we have been able to achieve significant efficiency in the systemic development and regulation of the Ukrainian tourism industry, together with MPs we have developed the Law on Tourism, the concept and the first stage of the Unified Tourism Register (UTR) and harmonized the interaction between participants. Despite the war, tourism today brings about UAH 3 billion to the country’s budget and creates new niches. These revenues can grow tenfold after the adoption of the new law “On Tourism” and ensuring transparency of this market, including the submission of statistics on tourist accommodation,” she said.
Oleskiv explained this indicator by calculations based on the example of the Slavska community, based on the break-even level of institutions (30% of the workload – IF-U).
“The better data the community receives, the better it can manage this area. For example, a certain season is less active, so the community can reduce the tourist tax and do more promotion to attract more visitors with promotions,” she explained.
Over the five years that Oleskiv has been in charge of DART, state budget revenues from the tourism industry have increased from UAH 1 billion 852 million in 2020 to UAH 2 billion 938 million in 2024. According to a forecast by Oxford Economics, made at the request of DART, the country’s tourism industry could bring up to UAH 598 billion to the state budget in 2034.
“We managed to get Russia expelled from the UN World Tourism Organization, and we created a whole new niche – memory routes. We have reoriented tourism from international to domestic and managed to interest people in new destinations to visit. Today, there is a very real and fully prepared strategy for the development of the industry for the coming years, as well as a professional environment that demonstrates unity and high interaction,” she says.
Systemic steps to create modern rules for managing the industry include a new law on tourism, bills to stimulate investment and development in the industry, a new hotel categorization system, and the creation of the first joint municipal enterprise in the tourism sector.
“Today, the first stage of the UTR has been created, an important element of which is the new categorization system developed by DART experts, after which it makes sense to finalize the second stage of the UTR in accordance with new criteria that meet European ones,” Oleskiv said.
The draft resolution adds modern formats (hostels, glamping, camping, etc.) to the categorization system, in addition to 1-5 star hotels. All accommodation facilities are required to register voluntarily through online resources (address, basic documents, number of beds, etc.). As for the categorization and star rating system, Oleskiv believes that, as required by international practice, it should include on-site compliance checks.
Oleskiv hopes that both the law and the resolution on the new categorization system will be adopted this year, which will help the systematic development of the industry, which has the potential to become a driver of the country’s economy.
