24 November 2018 - The cruise ship "Artania" owned by the German company Phoenix Reisen sailed into Bar on November 23 for the first time and brought 1,054 tourists and 527 crew members to the country. This event has officially closed the “cruising season” in Montenegro, during which 16 cruisers arrived in the port with a total of 22,500 tourists.
According to Emil Kukalj, director of Tourist Organization of Bar, this cruising season was successful. He explained that cruising began to develop in Bar with the arrival of the Global Ports Holding and with the efforts of the Allegra agency, through which the first cruise ship sailed into the port. Cruising merely has continued to lean on the existing resources of Bar Municipality ever since. Cruising tourism, as a part of nautical tourism, has grown to become a financially powerful tourist industry in recent years. The world maritime cruise market is seeing growth in all its submarkets and, according to the estimates; it will become an increasing part of world tourism. The representatives of Bar Municipality are especially pleased that the city has become a destination of interest within cruising voyages, and they are particularly looking forward to positive projections for the future.
Compared to the previous year, the cruising season in Bar is significantly better. According to Tanja Novović, activities coordinator at the joint stock company “Port of Adria," it is announced that 2019 will bring 25 cruisers to the port with about 26,000 tourists. The companies that send their cruisers to Bar are satisfied primarily with safety and security in the port, port facilities, infrastructure and service, but also with the content of this tourist destination which offers the possibility of various excursion tours.
Captain of "Artania" cruise ship, Morten Hansen, has been visiting Montenegro for years. This occasion marks the second time he visited Bar Port. "It's a great opportunity to visit two ports in one day, Kotor and Bar. However, in Kotor space is limited, there is room for one cruiser, and the other is on the anchor. It is a small town, and coming with this many people, we have to pay attention to that. Therefore, it is good that we have another port in Montenegro. If there is a crowd in Kotor, we can choose Bar, and as far as I know from Bar, it is not far to get tourists through the excursion programs to Kotor, it's only an hour away. It is also an opportunity for tourists to see your beautiful country, Montenegro, "said Artania's captain Morten Hansen, who has been working for this company for 13 years.
In 2017, JSC Port of Adria accepted nine cruisers, with about 11,550 passengers arriving in Bar and Montenegro, while in 2016, it took seven cruise ships and 8,660 passengers.
Compared to the 2017 season, the growth of passengers in 2018 is 96%! The projected passenger growth for 2019 compared to the 2018 season is 16 percent. With the arrival of the German cruiser, the tourist season in Bar was extended, which is undoubtedly one of the priority goals of the Municipality.
