Montenegro meeting could give Iberostar a strategic advantage

This week, Montenegro Prime Minister Duško Marković met with Miguel Fluxà Rosselló, the chairman and owner of Iberostar Hotel Group, to discuss the hotel company's growth in the country.

The two men reportedly discussed economic trends and "the excellent results of fiscal consolidation so far, as well as tax and other advantages of investing in Montenegro, especially in the construction and operation of [luxury] hotels." 

Marković pointed out the importance of foreign investments as one of the prerequisites for improving both the country's tourism sector and, by extension, the overall quality of life for the Montenegrin citizens. In this context, the Prime Minister said that his cabinet is available on a daily basis to respectable investors. 

Investment in infrastructure, especially for the country's airports, is one of the most important preconditions for further development of tourism in Montenegro, the Prime Minister added. 

The meeting could also give Iberostar an edge for future growth in an increasingly lucrative market. Days after the meeting, Nikola Fabris, vice governor for financial stability at the Central Bank of Montenegro, announced that the country's economy will grow 4 percent this year, and around 3.5 percent in 2018 due to strong activity in the tourism, infrastructure and construction sectors. The economy grew 2.5 percent last year.

The country, a candidate for membership in the European Union, is also looking to adopt the euro as its official currency, and wants to open talks on monetary policy with the Union by the end of this year or early next. It uses the euro outside the euro zone by choice rather than qualification, Fabris told Reuters.

Iberostar already operates the Bellevue hotel in Budva, and plans to open a hotel in Njivice next May. In total, Iberostar Hotel Group owns more than 100 hotels with 33,500 guestrooms in 30 countries.