Dr. Aleksandra Gardasevic Slavuljica is the Common Director of Tourism Growing Insurance policies within the Authorities of Montenegro, a World Tourism Hero, and a World Tourism Community board member.
As a tourism director for the brand new authorities of the Republic of Montenegro, she declared Montenegro essentially the most stunning Nation in Europe.
The Tourism and Society Suppose Tank needed to know extra about Aleksandra’s place. The Suppose Tank includes skilled specialists in numerous areas of tourism and society, whatever the company and institutional positions they symbolize.
The Tourism Society Suppose Tank simply interviewed Aleksandra.
Ms. Aleksandra Gardasevic Slavuljica holds a Doctoral diploma in Advertising and marketing, Company Communications, and HR. She is an knowledgeable within the tourism and journey business with a powerful background in Economics.
She graduated in Economics and Enterprise Administration on the College of Montenegro. Additional, she studied on the College of Montenegro in cooperation with Japanese Washington College, Washington DC, USA, gaining a Grasp’s Diploma. As a last, she accomplished a Doctorate in Belgrade, Serbia.
She turned a worldwide identified knowledgeable within the restoration of tourism and aviation throughout Covid-19. She was even awarded by WTN as a ”Tourism Hero” for her achievements throughout that demanding time.
As a tourism marketing consultant, she is specialised in company communication, gross sales, advertising, and HR. Her important expertise in strategic administration is a superb asset to every vacation spot and firm she labored for.
She has been specializing in connecting Montenegro to the world.
When requested to touch upon an achievement that she is the proudest of, she says that being a mother of two nice guys – one who’s a pilot, flying for Bamboo Airways in Vietnam and the opposite, a pupil of essentially the most prestigious College in Switzerland (College of Saint Gallen), each being so warm-hearted individuals, makes her tremendous joyful and proud.
“My two sons are my power, energy, and the entire world, along with my nice husband, dad and mom, and brother. My household is my fortress that I selfishly guard and cherish.”
Dr. Aleksandra Gardasevic Slavuljica is the Common Director of Tourism Growing Insurance policies within the Authorities of Montenegro
Gardasevic explains her actions and line of labor for the journey and tourism business in Montenegro.
The scope of our actions may be very broad. Simply identify it; I’m positive now we have it on our exercise checklist.
One among them is the creation of a accountable and engaging enterprise atmosphere. Specifically, the Directorate, which I’m the top of, offers with all main tourism-related, each from the strategic and operational elements.
So, I wish to level out that we’re making a strategic framework and have “hands-on” on a regular basis operational actions.
Speaking in regards to the final two years, since I’ve been the Director of the Directorate for Tourism growing insurance policies, now we have adopted quite a few strategic paperwork. A very powerful umbrella doc is the “Nationwide Tourism Growth Technique of Montenegro 2022-2025. with the Motion Plan”.
This doc is a street map of a sustainable improvement tourism path. The entire improvement strategy of tourism is outlined within the Technique. Objectives and an motion plan are outlined with directions on reaching them.
The UNWTO has formally complimented us for creating similar to sensible, helpful, and action-oriented doc
I’m so pleased with it, as I used to be the mission supervisor. I
n addition to the Technique, now we have adopted many applications and are getting ready extra. Our major and relevant applications are these for Rural Tourism, Well being, Sports activities, LGBTQ, and Cultural tourism.
No matter we do, we do it to create a sustainable atmosphere wherein the native inhabitants is glad and able to present companies to vacationers on the highest stage.
Additionally, positioning our vacation spot on a worldwide tourism stage is one among our targets as a result of Montenegro remains to be a brand new and untouched jewel of Europe.
I really feel like a cosmopolitan, however I can’t exaggerate if I say that Montenegro is essentially the most stunning nation on this planet.
What does the tourism business in your nation supply for the social, financial, and cultural improvement of Montenegro?
As I emphasised already, tourism improvement in Montenegro relies on the rules of a balanced between the necessities of the financial system, the necessity to rigorously use pure assets, and the duty to offer the inhabitants with good dwelling requirements.
On this regard, our exercise focuses on growing a vacationer supply that may meet the necessities of vacationer demand and respect the three “pillars” of sustainability.
We have now a particular method to the event of the supply of cultural tourism, taking into consideration that, along with the supply of rural and well being tourism merchandise, on this method, we create preconditions for a year-round vacationer supply and a discount in seasonality, which could have constructive financial and social results seen by a rise in earnings and employment.
What does Montenegro supply to the worldwide vacationer?
Montenegro is a rustic of remarkable magnificence.
We will supply vacationers love at first sight as a result of they are going to be delighted as soon as he involves Montenegro, which can change into their everlasting vacation spot.
In a small space protecting lower than 14,000 km2, nature was beneficiant. In simply in the future, it’s attainable to remain on the seashore, swim within the sea, after which attain the mountain tops and breathe recent air.
There are durations of the yr, typically in April, when you’ll be able to ski within the snow and swim within the sea on the identical day.
So, our supply may be very diversified by way of house, actions, lodging capacities…
You may keep in luxurious accommodations or rural households; you’ll be able to have a celebration or a quiet, romantic time.
Simply make a want, and it’ll come true in Montenegro.
What are the primary challenges dealing with tourism in Montenegro?
Greater than 30% of our GDP is expounded to tourism, so it’s clear how vital this business is to us. Everyone knows how difficult it’s, particularly in these unusual instances stuffed with challenges.
We are attempting to make tourism a sustainable and resilient financial department. On this sense, we’re efficiently fixing the issue of seasonality, workforce, unbalanced regional improvement, infrastructure, air connectivity, and sustainability…
Nevertheless, these are usually not solely challenges associated to our nation however challenges that have an effect on world tourism to a larger or lesser extent.
Till lately, Montenegro was a “solar & sea” vacation spot.
It’s not like that anymore. We’re an “multi functional” vacation spot the place tourism is carried out three hundred and sixty five days a yr.
We’re a rustic tailor-made to fulfill the wants of every kind of holiday makers. Our supply is created in keeping with the expectations of very demanding vacationers, which we are attempting to draw and make them want to keep at our vacation spot longer.
And out of your worldwide perspective, what are Europe’s primary challenges?
The world is a worldwide village, so the challenges are additionally world. Covid-19 was the main showcase of such a scenario.
No single vacation spot on this planet was not hit by it. So, the whole lot I already talked about about our vacation spot applies to nearly all locations worldwide.
Nevertheless, I wish to touch upon maybe the primary problem for Europe and the world, sustainability. All of us have to give attention to this as a result of sustainable tourism is the important thing to fixing many challenges.
Now it’s a time when now we have to be additional cautious. We should not let over-tourism occur once more. Tourism ought to by no means be as earlier than Covid. I believe many locations realized it, and this ought to be our path fulfilled with sustainable, accountable, inclusive, inexperienced, sensible tourism.
You stand out on your capability for work and collaboration. Do you think about that the completely different sectors of the State tourism business are aligned with the Ministry of Tourism?
Tourism is everybody’s business and business for everybody. There may be not a single financial department, at the least in our nation, unrelated to tourism.
Our Ministry intensively and really efficiently connects all tourism stakeholders, whether or not they’re from the state or non-public sector, civil society, or NGOs…
We’re at everybody’s disposal. A rustic’s tourism can’t be booming if it isn’t acknowledged in any respect ranges, and all of the stakeholders should be in a community.
Nevertheless, SMS are the primary carriers of tourism, and for them to operate, they should have a accountable enterprise atmosphere and steady market. Due to this fact, cooperation in tourism is crucial, and no entity or establishment can operate independently. We’re all related. We’re all networked. Networking on the nationwide stage is a prerequisite for networking on the world stage.
Basically, what’s the present scenario of the nationwide tourism business?
We’re greater than glad with the tourism restoration and reset after Covid-19. Our quantitative indicators are wonderful. We even surpassed the extent of the report 2019 in lots of segments. Nevertheless, Montenegro has made a change in vacationer route.
We’re engaged on the brand new branding of the vacation spot by modeling as diversified merchandise as attainable and growing its high quality. That is the brand new picture that we need to be the seal of our vacation spot.
For us, it is important to draw accountable friends, who behave responsibly in direction of our nature, keep longer on the vacation spot and spend extra. Our vacation spot promotion is oriented in direction of such goal teams.
In some interviews, you speak in regards to the cultural id of Montenegro; what are the primary ideas and developments that make that cultural id identifiable?
I believe that Montenegro deserves to be higher acknowledged on the map of world cultural tourism and wish to see this case improved within the coming interval. Our ministry, in addition to the Ministry of Tradition, are engaged on it intensively.
Montenegro represents a captivating space of wealthy cultural and historic heritage. In our nation, now we have UNESCO-protected properties.
There’s a combination of various cultures as a result of Christianity and Islam meet right here and reside harmoniously. These are simply among the predispositions and potentials for the nation’s cultural improvement.
It could be fascinating to say that three nice Christian relics are positioned in Montenegro: the hand of St. John the Baptist (the hand that baptized Jesus Christ), a fraction of the Holy Cross of the Lord (a part of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified) and the Icon of the Holy Mom of God Philermosa (in keeping with custom, it was the work of St. Apostle Luke who painted it reside in 46 AD). Due to this fact, Montenegro is a brand new phenomenon of cultural tourism, and everybody who visits it’s delighted by our cultural supply.
What are you growing to strengthen the picture and the nation model?
Montenegro was lately acknowledged as a “solar & sea” vacation spot.
Sure, our seashores and shoreline are magically stunning, however that’s solely a part of the great thing about our vacation spot.
We model the nation as an “multi functional” vacation spot as a result of now we have a proposal for everybody’s style and expectations.
Due to this fact, we wish our vacation spot to be higher acknowledged globally for its lively and diversified tourism, based on sustainability and duty in direction of the atmosphere and nature.
n this sense, we’re re-branding our vacation spot, figuring out how it’s important from its recognition.
The brand new model relies on new advertising requirements and new rules that apply to tourism. Montenegro is a accountable vacation spot, and we create our supply tailor-made to essentially the most demanding friends.
In your opinion, what are the primary vacationer assets of the nation that make it completely different and distinctive within the extensive vacationer supply discovered within the Adriatic?
Unreal pure magnificence is the distinctive promoting level of our vacation spot. Our areas take your breath away and stay etched within the minds and hearts of vacationers without end.
That is the explanation why vacationers maintain coming again to us. Whoever visits Montenegro as soon as will carry on visiting it often.
We have now 5 nationwide parks wealthy in wildlife and quite a few endemic species of animal and plant origin. The proximity of the ocean and the mountains provides numerous potentialities.
Generally it occurs that on the identical day, a vacationer can ski, each within the sea and on the snow, as a result of the ocean and the mountains are solely a little bit greater than an hour’s drive away.
Our conventional meals is scrumptious, and whoever tries it as soon as falls in love with the nation as a result of, as we all know, ”love goes by the abdomen.”
Our conventional hospitality, wealthy cultural and historic heritage, and the assembly of two religions – Christianity and Islam- are taking place in an space with lower than 14,000 km2 and solely 600,000 inhabitants.
Montenegro is positioned in a fascinating geographical atmosphere however is surrounded by very highly effective international locations for tourism. Is there a standard technique, or is it one of many area’s weak factors?
Developments change, and there may be room for everybody within the vacationer market.
Our goal group is predominantly high-paying markets, though vacationers from the area are additionally our conventional friends. We consider that now we have a singular product tailor-made for friends from Central, Western, and Northern Europe and friends from the Center East, which can also be essential to us.
For them, our supply is with out competitors in lots of respects, however we have to strengthen the promotion of our vacation spot.
That is additionally the primary objective of our Nationwide Tourism Technique – ”to change into a globally acknowledged vacation spot by 2025.”
Nevertheless, I need to spotlight our plans to advertise the supply in distant markets, similar to China and Canada, along with international locations from the Area.
For vacationers from these elements of the world, visiting the Balkans is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime expertise. They often need to go to a number of international locations throughout a single journey. On this sense, we create regional bundle preparations.
Nevertheless, trendy tourism is all about sharing. It’s oriented in direction of sharing information, good practices, and experiences as a result of that’s the solely method to make the business robust, resilient, and accountable.
Tell us a vital place to go to in your nation.
I don’t suppose I can reply this query. Montenegro is a particular place as an entire.
Montenegro deserves to be visited and each nook of it to be found.
Inevitably, one ought to go to the coastal cities similar to Ulcinj, Budva, Kotor, Tivat, Herceg-Novi, the capital Podgorica, Cetinje, then Kolašin and Žabljak within the Northern area.
One ought to go rafting on the “Tear of Europe,” the river Tara, go down the serpentines from Cetinje through Njegusi to Kotor (the gondola cable automotive from Lovcen to Kotor will likely be in operation quickly), go to our mountaineering trails that depart you breathless.
It could be finest to go to the posh resort manufacturers which have their specialty on this space and small rural households whose allure even essentially the most demanding vacationers can’t resist.
Nicely, our nationwide parks… Lovćen, Lake Skadar, Biogradska gora, Durmitor (underneath UNESCO safety )… The chances are infinite.
And a taste that may shock us?
Ah, you might be asking me troublesome questions once more.
So let me ask you, too… would you wish to really feel love at first sight?
Montenegro is a shock in itself. It’s an unexplored gem of Europe, and I promise if you go to it, love at first sight, will occur to you.
Belief me. So, Montenegro is ready to be explored.
Register free for IMEX Frankfurt Might 23-25 AND click on right here to schedule your FREE Picture / Video Interview with eTurboNews throughout IMEX