Adriatic Marinas, Peter Munk’s company which is building a nautical-tourism resort Porto Montenegro in Tivat, is to introduce a fast boat service, water taxi, along the Montenegrin coast.
The aim of the project is to provide practical transportation solutions as well as promote travel along the country’s picturesque coastline. Ideally, this would provide an alternative transportation option for the coastal communities and faster and more efficient transportation to both local communities and tourists, writes Montenegrin daily Vijesti.
Vaso Jaukovic, an associate of Adriatic Marinas, announced that preliminary contacts have been established with relevant state institutions, at both the local and national levels. The next step is a viability study, which would provide the basis for the implementation of the project.
The new water travel network would also ease road traffic in the Boka Bay area during the tourism season, which would result in environmental benefits and cut down the number of vehicles polluting the air.
“Visitors who come here from across the globe would be able to experience the beauty of towns like Kotor, Herceg Novi, Tivat, but also Cavtat and Dubrovnik. Water Taxi will operate on a precise schedule.” Jaukovic stated, explaining that water taxi would work in southern Croatia as well as Montenegro.
“The annual number of tourists who arrived at Dubrovnik’s Cilipi airport exceeded 500,000 in 2007. Many of these tourists would have loved to have visited Montenegro as well. However, long queues at the border-crossing of Debeli Brijeg, and traffic-jams in front of Kamenari-Lepetane ferry, where vehicles can wait for up to an hour to cross, make Montenegro a less attractive destination,” Jaukovic says, adding that the problem could be resolved with the introduction of the water taxi.
“Tivat is the busiest town on the coast, partially due to the airport, but also as a result of its unique position between Kotor, Herceg Novi and Budva. As well as the prime location, there are many recreational projects being developed in association with the upcoming Porto Montenegro. Water Taxi will become another huge asset for Montenegro’s tourists,” Jaukovic said. He concluded his statement by saying that he was working on developing all aspects of the project in order to ensure it will be launched in the near future.