Tivat recorded stronger hotel tourism at the start of September, with hotel guest numbers rising faster than total tourist arrivals as the coastal municipality seeks to extend activity beyond the main summer season. Around 6,930 tourists were registered in Tivat, approximately 3% more than a year earlier and about 10% above the comparable period in 2024.
Hotels accommodated about 1,310 guests, an increase of 15% year on year and roughly 50% compared with 2024. Private accommodation remained the dominant segment, with approximately 5,530 tourists, but numbers were only around 1% higher than a year earlier.
Hotel Segment Expands
The stronger hotel performance is significant for Tivat’s shoulder-season tourism. Hotels carry higher fixed operating costs and require stronger occupancy to remain commercially viable outside the summer peak. The 15% annual increase in hotel guests indicates stronger demand after the main season, while the 50% increase compared with 2024 provides a larger longer-term rise. Private accommodation accounted for roughly four-fifths of registered tourists, but its growth of only 1% was considerably weaker.
Hotels can also support formal employment and related services including restaurants, conference facilities and wellness operations. The figures are an early snapshot rather than a complete measure of September tourism, as daily registrations do not directly show overnight stays, room rates or tourist spending.
Tivat’s Tourism Development
Tivat has developed a high-end tourism and real-estate cluster around Porto Montenegro, the Bay of Kotor and the Luštica peninsula. Marinas, luxury hotels, restaurants and residential developments can attract visitors during spring and autumn as well as the traditional summer period. The municipality nevertheless faces an aviation constraint because Tivat Airport has much stronger direct international connectivity during summer and loses many routes after October.
For the coming winter, 31 weekly flights between Tivat and Belgrade are scheduled, providing a dense connection after other international airlines reduce services. That connectivity could help more accommodation and hospitality businesses remain open beyond the peak period.
Visitor Markets and Seasonality
Serbia and Russia are among Tivat’s largest source markets, while Britain, Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also important. Regional visitors can more easily make short trips and support weekend and shoulder-season demand, while British and German travellers depend more heavily on direct aviation or organised tourism.
Extending the season is important for Montenegro because a large share of tourism and foreign-exchange revenue is concentrated in the summer months. Longer operations can improve the utilisation of hotels and reduce seasonal fluctuations in employment and business activity. For luxury hotels, stronger activity over six or eight months creates a different investment profile from operations concentrated mainly in July and August.
Infrastructure Requirements
Tivat’s tourism and real-estate growth is increasing pressure on roads, water supply, wastewater capacity and airport infrastructure. A longer tourism season can spread demand across more months but does not remove the need for infrastructure investment.
Montenegro is preparing upgrades to Tivat Airport, including improvements to the terminal, apron, taxiway and runway. The airport-development programme reflects the importance of air connectivity to the local tourism economy and may increasingly need to accommodate demand beyond the summer peak. Tivat’s tourism structure is also changing, with luxury hotels, marina residences and integrated resorts adding higher-value segments alongside its large private-accommodation market. The latest figures show total tourist numbers up 3% year on year, while hotel guests increased by 15%, indicating stronger growth in the formal hotel segment as the summer season moves toward its end.
