In response to a statement by Director of the Tourism Research and Development Centre Petar Golubovic, the Statistical Office has said that it does not count Ukrainians and Russians who came to Montenegro due to the war as tourists.

“It is incorrect that the Monstat’s official statistics treat Ukrainians and Russians who came due to the war as tourists, as stated in the article. The Statistical Office does not register them in that manner – it follows a legally defined approach and international methodology, using data from other relevant institutions,” Monstat stated in response to the article in which Golubovic claimed that the statistics treated even foreigners living in Montenegro as tourists.

Monstat stated that the Statistical Office, as the body responsible for producing official statistics, did not count tourists arbitrarily, but rather professionally and independently, in a transparent and highly professional manner.

“Official data on tourist arrivals and overnight stays are not merely the summing up of a few numbers, nor is it as simple to discuss the magnitude of this phenomenon based on a few indicators or perhaps assumptions,” stated Monstat.

According to Monstat, the aim of the statistical research on tourist arrivals and overnight stays in accommodation facilities is to provide fundamental data about the number of both domestic and foreign tourists.