THE PROBLEM OF MARKET POSITIONING DUE TO WAR CRISES

Abstract

War crises have a major impact on tourism trends. In addition to the complete cessation of tourist activities in destinations that are directly affected by this type of crisis, its effects on other destinations are also significant. This impact is especially noticeable in destinations that are market dependent on tourists from areas affected by the war crisis. Inadequate market positioning and dependence on several markets has numerous negative consequences for the development of tourism, and due to emergencies such as war, health and other types of crises, these consequences are further pronounced. After the huge crisis caused by the pandemic, which is still active but on a smaller scale, Montenegrin tourism will also face the crisis caused by Russia's attack on the territory of Ukraine. Currently, the war actions in Ukraine by the Russian military forces will significantly affect the tourist movements in Montenegro, given the high dependence on the mentioned emitting markets. This war brought new challenges to the global economic environment. The suspension of scheduled flights within Ukrainian and Russian airspace, as well as the ban on flights by Russian airlines by many European countries, affect travel within Europe. According to the UNWTO, Russia and Ukraine together accounted for 3% of global spending on international tourism in 2020. In addition, in 2018 and 2019, Russia was on the list of ten countries with the highest consumption in tourism. These markets are important for neighboring countries, but also for European holiday destinations focused on the offer based on sun and sea resources, such as Montenegro. In order to achieve a successful tourism business, market repositioning is necessary. Changing the structure of the main emitting markets in tourist arrivals in Montenegro is necessary both in the short and long term. Such repositioning requires the improvement of the tourist offer and the development of types of tourism in line with current trends. The paper presents, through benchmark analysis, the minimization of the impact of war crises through adequate market positioning on the example of Croatia. Montenegro's positioning in the markets of Western Europe is not at the appropriate level and is significantly worse than the countries in the region. This directly affects the economic result, which was negative in Montenegro until the increase in the share of tourists from these markets. Improving the current situation and maximizing economic and other benefits from tourism requires the adoption of a marketing strategy, which would be long-term focused on achieving Montenegro's competitiveness in the Western European market.Also, in addition to the existence of the strategy, it is necessary to adopt a set of activities for its implementation and control of achieved goals, which is one of the main shortcomings in the development of tourism in Montenegro, given that strategies and plans have been implemented insufficiently.