Visit.Montenegro.com : Investors are the Ones to Blame for the Lack of Hotels, not the Bureaucracy

Kotor – Kotor meets this tourist season, as well as the series of previous ones, without big hotels which should have been built as several locations in this town.

Mayor, Marija Catovic confirms in an interview with Vijesti that Kotor should get new hotels in the shortest possible term. She adds, however, that each new hotel, not only in the level of its’ luxury, but also in its’ style and size, must fit into the provisions envisaged by UNESCO, which had placed this town under protection.

“I think we should not give way to pressures and allow the devastation of this exquisitely important and attractive area. We must fully respect the sequence of our actions, as it is stipulated by the law”, Catovic says, adding that the responsible for the fact that Kotor will not have big hotels even till the beginning of 2011. were - the investors.

“Without any intention to defend Municipality’s administration, I do not think that the core of the problem lies with the slowness of the bureaucracy or with the lack of accuracy in planning documentation, although each of these sectors have their objective and subjective weaknesses.

One to blame for the fact that we cannot include big hotel capacities as a part of our offer this year is, in my opinion, the investor. That is the Irish company which had purchased hotel ‘Fjord’, URC and the building of ‘Jugooceanija’”, Catovic said.

She reminds that not long after she took the office of the mayor, a representative of this Irish company, which had been founded in Montenegro and which gathers several foreign investors, came forward and stated their intention to buy these objects and build hotels.

“Sketches and drawings which he presented on this and some later occasions were not even idea-project-solutions, let alone the project documentation for the future objects.

According to what I have seen, these objects would fit much better into Disneyland or some similar entertainment part, not a town which had been placed under UNESCO-protection.

I do not know if the gentleman from Ireland had underestimated our knowledge or whether he had overestimated his knowledge on the history of Kotor and its’ inhabitants. But, the sketches which he had presented to us on several occasions have not been adjusted to our UNESCO-protected town, neither in terms of the style nor in terms of the size of these objects.

I have warned these investors against their intent on which they have informed us, following a significant period of time. They have informed us they were planning on building a 5-star hotel complex, with 48 thousand square meters, with six floors. Original agreement mentioned 10,000 square meters”, Catovic explains.

In the meantime, prior to the letter even being sent, Catovic goes on, a Plan for Special Uses of Maritime Resources had been adopted, thus shifting jurisdiction for the segment of license issuing from the Municipality to the Ministry for Economic Development.

Catovic emphasizes it was also necessary to respect all the recommendations from UNESCO, in order to avoid irreversible devastation of the area, as well as to ensure the go-ahead from the Regional Institution for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture.

“What had come after this had been the purchasing of the building of ‘Jugooceanija’ company and investor’s request to build a hotel which would have five floors and 28,000 square meters. Beside this enormous increase in the capacity, investor also demanded to use in between two and four thousand square meters of the sea, which really could not have been tolerated.

It was only once the investors have realized that the license should be requested from the adequate Ministry, which should also be presented by their idea-project-solution, that necessary procedure with engagement of a project-developer and a call for the study of the location had finally been launched. So, Municipality, or local administration, have nothing to do with this delay”, Catovic states.

Mayor of Kotor also emphasizes that she expects that the respective Ministry would find the way to resolve this situation. She announced that a representative of Municipal Spatial Secretariat, as well as a representative of the Regional Institution for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture, would be present at all future talks and meetings that the investor might have with the representatives of the Ministry.

Problems With Locations Vrmac and Krimovica

When it comes to the locations of Vrmac and Krimovic, which had been bought by foreign investors, building of the announced tourist complexes also remains under question.

“Study of the Locality had been done for Vrmac location, changes and additions to the Spatial plan for this location had been adopted, clearance from adequate Ministries had been obtained and it is all up to the investor at this point.

As far as Krimovica is concerned, Municipality had not been addressed with any sort of idea-solution-project, although tourist-accommodating capacities are envisaged at these locations with current Spatial Plan.

Considering all of the above, it is realistic to claim that Kotor will not get a bigger hotel prior to 2010, or beginning of 2011”, Mayor of Kotor, Marija Catovic concludes.

By: I.K.