PODGORICA (Montenegro), November 12 (SeeNews) – Montenegro has experienced Europe's second steepest fall in tourist numbers in the first eight months of 2020, attributable to a higher dependency on foreign travellers, the European Travel Commission (ETC) said.
The number of tourist arrivals in Montenegro slumped 84% on the year in January-August, Romania’s international arrivals plunged 80%, while a relatively smaller fall was posted in Turkey, down 77%, the ETC said earlier this week in its European Tourism - Trends & Prospects report for the third quarter of 2020.
Serbia also experienced a sharp fall in tourist arrivals, of 74%.
"Today any strategy must be accompanied by a sustainable transition to embrace environmental and digital realities. Investing in European tourism means promoting the power of travel to help local communities thrive and to preserve the European spirit and citizenship. These changes will also have to be accompanied by new tourism policies and a strong commitment at local, regional, national and European level," ETC executive director Eduardo Santander said.
Cyprus was the most severely hit European destination by the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and saw tourist arrivals decline 85% on the year in the first eight months of 2020.