Tourist workers and hoteliers are generally satisfied with the summer season in Neum so far. They noted that the seventh month may not be as good as last year, but if the epidemiological situation serves them, they believe in a more profitable season than last year.
Last year, many tourists from the region and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) went to Neum to the sea, since the beaches of Croatia and Montenegro were inaccessible to many due to the bad epidemiological situation. Because of that, the seventh and eighth month of 2020 in Neum was extremely good, but it is expected that the demand will be at a high level this year as well.
Capacity occupancy in Neum
Davor Kresic, the vice-president of the Association of Hoteliers of Neum, told that this season and pre-season were sufficiently capacious.
“We can say that the pre-season, from the middle of the fifth month and the sixth month, was very well filled. The seventh month was relatively well filled, there is no big crowd like last year, but it should be taken into account that all other markets have been opened. Considering the corona and the whole situation, we can be very satisfied with the course of the season so far, ” he mentioned, emphasizing that Neum was “a favorite destination for many” last year.
As of July 22nd this year, almost all capacities in Neum hotels have been filled, and private accommodation is not far behind. If this pace continues, the eighth month could very easily be at the level of last year when the citizens of Neum had an extraordinary season.
Kresic pointed out that this year’s advantage is that the lockdown was abolished early, so they had the opportunity to work in May and June, but last year there was no re-lock until the end of the season.
“In fact, we need both the ninth and tenth month, but that depends on the epidemiological situation. If this trend continues in those two months, then we will even be able to talk about a better season than last year,” said Kresic.
Domestic tourists are most frequent, but foreigners stay longer
Speaking about this year’s structure of tourists, Kresic explainedthat in 90 percent of cases they are domestic tourists, which includes the diaspora. Last year, a large number of Serbs came to Neum, since other beaches in the region were not open, and this year there are significantly fewer of them. Apart from them, Poles and Slovenes are also frequent guests.
“On weekends, there is a much higher occupancy of accommodation capacities and Neum because we have a lot of day trips,” Kresic concluded.
Around 15.000 guests, mostly locals and from the diaspora, are currently resting in Neum, and there are also guests from the region, as Mayor of Neum, Dragan Jurković told for agency FENA, emphasizing that all accommodation capacities in this city on the sea in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are fully filled.
“Currently, there are about 15.000 people in Neum, although it is difficult to give accurate data and figures at the moment,” told Jurkovic, adding that the start of the season was like never before and that the season had never started this early.
According to him, there was a small stagnation in early July, but at the end of last week, a large number of tourists arrived in Neum.
“Unlike previous years, we had an earlier start to the season. When it comes to the capacity occupancy, it ranged from 60 to 80 percent by mid-July, and now it’s up to 100 percent,” the Neum Mayor stated.
When asked for how much it increased compared to the pastyear, and how much less compared to 2019, he said that, when you look at the peak of the season, there are not many differences for 2019 or last year.
“If we look at this period from mid-July, I believe the occupancy in Neum is always the same. The maximum occupancy is in that central part of the tourist season, and there I think there is not much difference either from 2019 or from last year,” he pointed out.
He noted that the statistical data will be analyzed at the end of the tourist season when it will be known exactly how many overnight stays were realized.
As for the guests, he explained that mostly domestic guests and the diaspora rest in Neum, but that there are also guests from ourregion.
“There are guests from the region, even though not to the extent that it was last year. We learn from our hoteliers that a large number of guests from Serbia returned to Neum this summer as well,” said Jurkovic.
When asked how many guests stay in Neum on average and whether there are more of them in hotels or private accommodation, he emphasized that currently, there are guests staying in Neum for several days and that this is now the period when both private accommodation and hotels are full.
He mentioned that by mid-July, private accommodation was more crowded, but that hotels were not too far behind either.
According to the Neum Mayor, the pre-season and post-season are quite endangered by the epidemic, and then, as he said, the situation with the coronavirus dictates everything.
“It is certain that the whole situation with the coronavirus will affect the season in Neum, as well as in the whole world, and that it cannot be a ‘normal’ season like 2019. However, we think that Neum will still achieve good results after this tourist season,” Jurkovic concluded, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
