Photo credits: Predrag Vučković

All living beings on planet Earth spend their lives trying to ensure a better future for themselves and their posterity. Plants and animals do it instinctively, whereas people are guided by their consciousness which is shaped by different circumstances.

The advent of mass production was one such circumstance that gradually altered human consciousness and ultimately led to an imbalance in the economy, society, and our surroundings. To get these three aspects back in balance, a concept of sustainable development was introduced. It teaches all of us how to satisfy personal and collective needs while making sure to leave that same possibility to future generations.

There are a lot of activities that could be implemented to accelerate sustainable development. Due to their great influence on the economy, society, and the surroundings, companies are expected to assume the greatest responsibility. Therefore, the main recommendations for implementing the principles of sustainability are directed toward them. Seeing as tourism is one of the most developed branches of the economy SECTOR, special attention is paid to the development of such tourism.

For a tourism business to be sustainable from an economic viewpoint, it is necessary to work on increasing visitors’ spending, company profitability, employment opportunities, and creating benefits for other destinations. From a social standpoint, cultural heritage protection is expected along with the improvement of services, infrastructure and quality of life, as well as active collaboration with local communities. From a natural surroundings’ perspective, attention should be paid to natural sites’ protection and the optimization of their use, informing and educating the public on their significance, and building strong partnerships.

Lipa cave is a small tourism company managing a protected natural site in Montenegro, located in an area of great cultural and historical importance. From the very beginning, well aware of our responsibility and willingness to contribute, we’ve built our business practice by following with principles of sustainability and created one of the most attractive touristic destinations in Montenegro. Lipa cave was valorized in compliance with international standards, and we’re constantly working on preserving its ecosystem. We’ve partnered with numerous tourism companies in Montenegro and foreign countries. Moreover, we’re a partner of the Adriaticaves project whose main objective is to establish and promote natural and archaeological heritage in caves of the Adriatic region. We’ve improved Montenegro’s touristic offer and became a must-see attraction in Cetinje. The chance for employment is primarily given to the local population with which we collaborate daily. Besides that, we’ve paid special attention to the education of the youngest population regarding sustainable management of natural sites with an accent on caves and their ecosystems. Our success has been validated by multiple awards and our visitors’ feedback, as well as the fact that for several consecutive years Lipa cave has been recognized as one of the top 5 places to visit in Montenegro.

Even though the implementation of sustainability principles is all our responsibility, within the basis of our success lies an honest wish to uphold them and an omnipresent question of what more can we do to contribute.

We’re going into another uncertain season with the same question. If you have any interesting suggestions, write to us, or leave a comment on our Facebook or Instagram profile/account.