Management Framework for Sustainable Nautical Destination Development: The Case of Montenegro

Abstract

This paper examined ten main components of a nautical destination and the level of satisfaction with them by the nautical tourists visiting Montenegro. The goal is to propose the strategic management directions for sustainable development of Montenegro as an attractive, new Adriatic and Mediterranean nautical destination. A sample of 609 nautical tourists was examined on different dimensions of Montenegro as a destination; their obtained responses used exploratory factor analysis. All categories of respondents expressed the greatest level of satisfaction with the natural beauties of Montenegro, while being least satisfied with the nature protection. Given that strategic decision-makers are still in the process of considering the options for the development of the researched destination, and that foreign investors have recognised its attractiveness, this paper aims to offer to all stakeholders—the central government, local self-governments, investors, managers and tourism organisations—a framework for sustainable nautical destination management. The survey focuses on satisfaction defined quite broadly, since the aim is to gain an insight into crucial elements threatening the destination’s sustainability to be able, in the next steps, to examine the specificities of the problems detected. An added value is the applicability to similar nautical destinations, which very much like Montenegro, invest considerable efforts in boosting the development of this segment of tourism supply.