Glossary · Montenegro Invest

Planning and land

CDCentral activities (centralne djelatnosti): A planning designation for central activities such as business, public services and hospitality, under which the Velje Brdo plan places hotel and congress sites.
ConcessionConcession: A state grant of the right to run an activity or use public assets; the guide says it applies only where legally required, such as Maritime Domain berths.
CPCadastral parcel (katastarska parcela): A land parcel as recorded in the cadastre under a number such as 1785/1 and a cadastral municipality; may be divided into several urban plots.
DSLState Location Study (Državna studija lokacije): A state-level planning study for a defined coastal or strategic area, such as Sector 34 at Luštica, dividing it into zones with permitted uses.
DUPDetailed Urban Plan (Detaljni urbanistički plan): A local plan that fixes the use, building limits and capacity of each urban plot in an area.
GDFAGross Developed Floor Area: The total built floor area of a development, used as a measure of its scale in planning parameters.
GFAGross Floor Area: The total built floor area of a building or plot, including all floors; the guide gives maximum GFA limits per tourism parcel.
GURGeneral Urban Regulation (Generalno urbanističko rješenje): A plan-wide urban regulation; the guide says it lets urban-technical conditions for hotels be issued directly and gives plan-wide capacity figures.
KOCadastral Municipality (katastarska opština): The land-registry area in which a cadastral parcel is recorded, written after the parcel number, e.g. KO Radovanići.
Long-term leaseLong-term lease of state-owned land: The main route by which investors get state-owned land in the guide, rather than a sale, under the applicable state-property framework.
Maritime DomainMaritime Domain (pomorsko dobro): State-controlled coastal land and sea area governed by its own legal regime, within which coastal tourism sites may be leased and berths conceded.
P+7 / P+16Ground floor plus 7 / 16 upper storeys: Building height notation giving the ground floor plus a number of upper floors; the Podgorica business district allows P+7 to P+16, up to 120 m above sea level.
PUPSpatial-Urban Plan (Prostorno-urbanistički plan): A municipal planning document that sets land uses and development parameters, for example for Nikšić, Zelenika and Herceg Novi.
SSMedium-density housing: A planning designation for medium-density housing within which hotels and other tourist accommodation are permitted as compatible uses.
T1Tourism designation T1: A land-use designation for tourism in Montenegrin plans, applied in the guide to hotel and holiday-resort sites such as Sutorina and Jelika.
T2Tourism designation T2: A land-use designation for tourism in Montenegrin plans, applied in the guide to a Žabljak tourist resort parcel.
T3Tourism designation T3 (organised camps and resorts): A tourism land-use designation for organised camps and resorts, used for parcels in the Podbišće Block 16 zone at Mojkovac.
UFood-and-beverage designation: A planning designation for food and beverage and visitor services, with limited lodging permitted, used for four parcels in Block 16 at Mojkovac.
UPUrban plot (urbanistička parcela): A numbered building plot defined by a detailed urban plan, with its own use, building lines and capacity, e.g. UP4 or UP9.

Tourism and hotels

ADRAverage Daily Rate: Average room revenue earned per occupied room per day, used with occupancy to gauge hotel pricing and performance.
Condo-hotelCondo-hotel business model: A hotel whose individual units are sold to buyers while the hotel keeps its category and operates as one facility, allowed for five-star coastal and four-star northern or central hotels.
MICEMeetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions: The business-events segment of tourism, covering meetings, incentive travel, conferences and exhibitions.
RevPARRevenue per Available Room: Room revenue divided by all available rooms, equal to occupancy multiplied by average daily rate.
TDBTourism Doing Business (UN Tourism series): The UN Tourism series of country investment guides, of which this publication is part.
Tourism Development ZoneTourism Development Zone: A zone on state-owned land of at least one hectare in the north or centre (excluding Podgorica), offered under long-term lease for investments of at least EUR 3 million.

Finance and deals

ADAkcionarsko Društvo (Joint Stock Company): A Montenegrin joint stock company, the corporate form used by large developers such as Luštica Development AD Podgorica.
BOTBuild-Operate-Transfer: A project structure in which a private party builds and operates an asset for a fixed period, then transfers it to the public authority.
CAPEXCapital Expenditure: Spending on acquiring or upgrading long-lived physical assets such as land, buildings and equipment, as opposed to day-to-day operating costs.
DOODruštvo sa Ograničenom Odgovornošću (Limited Liability Company): A Montenegrin limited liability company, the usual corporate form for a foreign investor's local project or operating company.
EBITDAEarnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation: A measure of operating profit before financing costs, taxes and non-cash charges, used to compare operating performance.
ICDInvestment Corporation of Dubai: The Dubai institutional investor that anchored the Porto Montenegro marina development in Tivat.
IRRInternal Rate of Return: The discount rate at which an investment's future cash flows equal its cost, used to compare the expected return of projects.
JVJoint Venture: A business arrangement in which two or more parties pool resources for a project, such as the EPCG and Masdar energy venture.
PPPPublic-Private Partnership: A long-term arrangement between a public authority and a private partner for public infrastructure or services, governed in Montenegro by the Law on PPP.
WBIFWestern Balkans Investment Framework: An EU-backed financing platform that blends grants and loans for infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans.

Tax

CITCorporate Income Tax: Tax on company profits; the guide notes Montenegro introduced a progressive CIT structure under the Europe Now programmes.
DTADouble Taxation Agreement: A treaty that may reduce or eliminate double taxation of the same income, subject to treaty eligibility; Montenegro has a network of 44.
PITPersonal Income Tax: Tax on individuals' income; the guide notes Montenegro introduced a progressive PIT structure under the Europe Now programmes.
VATValue Added Tax: A consumption tax charged on goods and services; the guide notes certain exemptions, including import VAT relief on supplies for five-star hotel construction.

Economy

FDIForeign Direct Investment: Cross-border investment in which a foreign investor acquires a lasting interest in, or control of, a local business or asset.
GDPGross Domestic Product: The total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year, the main measure of economic size and growth.
GIIGlobal Innovation Index: A WIPO ranking of economies by innovation performance; the guide reports Montenegro at 64th of 139 economies in 2025.
MSMEMicro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise: A small business category that forms the backbone of the tourism value chain; the guide counts 51,386 such enterprises in 2025.
NECPNational Energy and Climate Plan: Montenegro's plan for an accelerated energy transition, relevant to investors seeking green-certified tourism operations.
S3Smart Specialisation Strategy 2026–2031: The national innovation strategy that names innovative, regenerative and sustainable tourism as a priority domain for innovation support.
WEOWorld Economic Outlook (IMF): The IMF's regular report and database of global economic forecasts, used as the guide's source for GDP and other indicators.

Trade and agreements

CEFTACentral European Free Trade Agreement: A regional free trade agreement of which Montenegro is a member, giving preferential market access alongside its agreements with the EU, EFTA, Türkiye and Ukraine.
EFTAEuropean Free Trade Association: A European trade bloc with which Montenegro maintains a free trade agreement.
WTOWorld Trade Organization: The global trade body Montenegro joined in 2012, securing most-favoured-nation treatment in international trade.

Institutions

AIMAccelerating Investment in Montenegro: A project of the Montenegrin Investment Agency, reported in an AIM Project Report that the guide cites as a source.
CBCGCentral Bank of Montenegro: Montenegro's central bank, which with MONSTAT is a source of the national statistical series used in the guide.
EBRDEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development: An international development bank whose Transition Report and working papers on the Western Balkans are cited as sources in the guide.
ETCEuropean Travel Commission: The organisation of European national tourism bodies, whose data the Ministry of Tourism's investment framework cites.
EUEuropean Union: The political and economic union Montenegro is negotiating to join and with which it already has a free trade agreement.
IMFInternational Monetary Fund: The international financial institution whose Article IV reports and World Economic Outlook are the guide's main macroeconomic sources.
ITUInternational Telecommunication Union: The UN agency that publishes the ICT Development Index, cited in the guide for Montenegro's digital connectivity.
MIAMontenegrin Investment Agency: The state agency that facilitates investors, advises on incentives, approves PPP proposals and maintains the register of PPP projects.
MONSTATStatistical Office of Montenegro: Montenegro's national statistical office, source of the labour, wage and tourist arrival data in the guide.
NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization: The defence alliance Montenegro joined in June 2017, cited by the guide as a factor supporting investor confidence.
NTONational Tourism Organisation of Montenegro: The national body that supports tourism investors alongside the MIA and the relevant ministries.
UN TourismUnited Nations World Tourism Organization: The UN agency for tourism that publishes this guide as part of its Tourism Doing Business series.
UNCTADUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development: The UN body that publishes the World Investment Report, the guide's source for global investment trends.
UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: The UN agency that inscribes World Heritage sites, cited in the guide for Montenegro's heritage status.
WIPOWorld Intellectual Property Organization: The UN agency that publishes the Global Innovation Index cited in the guide.