Macedonia, Northern Cyprus to bolster cooperation in tourism

Macedonia and Northern Cyprus are taking steps for bolstering the bilateral cooperation in the sphere of tourism. To that effect the two countries have already signed a memo of cooperation, which inter alia, includes organization of charter flights for seven-day packages for Macedonian tourists to visit Northern Cyprus and vice versa.

"We have held talks with the Northern Cyprus Minister of Culture, Environment and Tourism, Unel Ustun, which resulted in signing a memo of cooperation in the sphere of tourism," Economy Minister Valon Saraqini told reporters Wednesday in Skopje at sidelines of "Basic Factors for Receptive Tourism Development", organized by the Macedonian Chamber of Tourism.

Macedonia's Government and Ministry of Economy has already launched numerous activities to promote the country as an attractive tourist destination, Saraqini said.

"Our friend (Turkish actor and Honorary Consul to Northern Cyprus) Necati Sasmaz, who is paying a second visit to Macedonia, has been also promoting Macedonia as a hospitable, friendly and warm country for all tourists," Saraqini said.

International Tourism Fair opens

Travel agencies and hotel managers from Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Turkey will present their latest and most attractive arrangements at the International Tourism Fair in Skopje from Tuesday till Saturday.

Turkey and Greece are still one of the most popular destinations, while Northern Cyprus is the latest offer.

"Tourism, as a segment of economic development of a country, is a bridge between nations that we have to build to establish direct link between cultures and traditions. It lifts all obstacles, borders and visas," Economy Minister Valon Saraqini said opening the tourism fair.

Macedonia, he added, is increasingly promoted as an attractive tourist destination and is heightening its cooperation in the sphere with all other countries in the region.

"The objective is the Balkan region to be transformed into a global  destination that will welcome tourists over and over again every season. Similarities and differences are our trump card, an additional motivation to pay a visit and to enjoy in their natural and spiritual heritage," the minister stated.

He underlined that government's policies were yielding excellent results - the number of tourists has been increased by 25% in the first two months of 2012.

"The best results in the field of tourism in the past decade have been achieved in 2011 and 2012. The total number of tourists is increased by 10.5%, while accommodations rose by 7.6%. There is also an increase in the number of guests from abroad. Higher indicators are expected in 2012 provided that there is a growth in the overall turnover of tourism," Saraqini said.

The fair is visited by guests from the region, EU countries and representatives of top global manifestations and organisations.

"Guests from the region are verifying our common goal, which is strengthened regional cooperation in all economic aspects to provide sustainable development and high living standards. Guests from EU countries, on the other hand, prove that we are on our chosen path to EU membership," the minister noted.

Bulgaria is a partner country at the International Tourism Fair, which is going to present its famous tourist destinations.

Speaking at the event, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Ivo Marinov said that Macedonia was an important tourist partner of Bulgaria.

Skopje hosts conference - Basic factors for receptive tourism development

Macedonia square in Skopje.

Economy Minister Valjon Saracini Wednesday will open conference on topic "Basic factors for receptive tourism development" which will be held in Skopje.

The Turkish actor Necati Sasmaz, who starred in the popular television series "Valley of the Wolves" as Polat Alemdar, will be a special guest at the 2nd International Tourism Fair.

Economic Chamber for Tourism of Macedonia organises the conference.

Israeli experts to conduct rural tourism training in Struga

Local Development Agency Struga in cooperation with the Faculty of Tourism - Ohrid, Centre for Development of Southwest Planning Region with main office in Struga, Tourism Cluster and GIZ will organise a training for trainers in the field of rural tourism which will be conducted March 19 to 29.

Trainers will be Israel's top experts in the field of rural tourism. After completing the training, candidates will receive a certificate from Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.

Four souvenir Shops open in Skopje

Four souvenir shops opened in downtown Skopje on Wednesday, first of the 20 unified tourism-cultural points in several Macedonian cities (Ohrid, Bitola, Struga, Berovo etc) and three border crossings (Tabanovce, Bogorodica and Deve Bair).
The shops sell replicas of displays in the Museum of Macedonia - items excavated at archaeological sites or applications of authentic jewelry, copies of the monuments throughout the country, puzzles, key chains, magnets etc.
Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said souvenirs aim towards cultural and tourism promotion, but are also intended for Macedonian citizens.
"These shops are of enormous significance for Macedonia's tourism promotion. There is a large spectre of items, whereas prices are lower compared to other countries", added Kanceska-Milevska.

Macedonia's tourism potentials presented in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Macedonia's tourism potentials and Macedonian wines were presented Tuesday before Dutch tour-operators in Amsterdam.
The promotion, hosted by Macedonian Ambassador to the Netherlands Nikola Dimitrov, was attended by 30 tour-operators that are already offering Macedonia as a tourism destination, but also ones showing potential interest.
"The Netherlands is one of our main target markets. Until 2010, Karatanova Tours was in charge of the Dutch market, but following the introduction of the subsidy programme, other tour-operators have shown interest, arranging charter-flights to Macedonia, even from Belgium", said Jordan Trajkov, director of the Agency for Support and Promotion of Tourism.
Ambassador Nikola Dimitrov said there is a realistic chance that offer for Dutch tourists increases in 2012.The Amsterdam event was supported by Dutch governmental agency "Holland Gateway".

Japan, Macedonia agree to boost tourism, study, business exchanges

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his visiting Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski agreed Wednesday to boost their countries' tourism, study and business exchanges, Japanese officials said.
Gruevski, the first Macedonian prime minister to visit Japan, voiced hope that his visit will strengthen bilateral ties, after Noda thanked the Balkan country for its aid for Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Gruevski also expressed his country's intention to open an embassy in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.At the outset of their meeting, which was open to the press, Noda assured his visitor that "reconstruction in disaster-hit areas is underway and the supply chains have almost fully recovered.
"Macedonia, which gained its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, is aiming for economic development through foreign capital.

Albanian tour-operators, journalists visit Macedonia

Popova Sapka

Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Macedonian Ambassador to Tirana Vele Trpevski met Monday with tour-operators and journalists from the Republic of Albania, who pay a visit to Macedonia within project "Promotion of Macedonia's Winter Tourism in Albania".
"Macedonia-Albania cooperation in the tourism field has focused on stay of Albanian tourists in the Ohrid-Struga region, as well as vacations of Macedonian nationals on the Adriatic coast. This project aims at offering Albanians our winter resorts. Moreover, we want to create a joint tourism product for the global tourist by combining their seaside with our lakes and mountains", said Minister Saraqini.
The Albanian guests were presented with the possibilities of winter resorts Mavrovo and Popova Sapka. They also met with Macedonian tour-operators and representatives of country's tourism associations.

Macedonia's tourism potentials presented in Finland

The travel show organized by the Agency Promotion and Support of Tourism as part of the Government's activities for promotion of the country's tourism potentials was held late Tuesday in Finland capital Helsinki.
Ambassador Kire Ilievski thanked largest Finnish tour operator "Aurinkomatkat" and airline "Finnair" for the successful completion of ten charter flights in the course of the year, but also the team of "Ridman Production", which made a series of photos and videos presenting Macedonia's tourism potentials and cultural heritage.
Agency representatives also met with "Aurinkomatkat" officials, agreeing on a marketing strategy, including participation at tourism fair MATKA in Finland, for the purpose of attracting more tourists for the 2012 season.
Vice Premier for European Affairs Teuta Arifi, who paid a working visit to Finland yesterday, attended the promotion.Similar presentations were held in several Finnish cities in the course of October.

Macedonia, Qatar sign deals on investment, tourism

Macedonian authorities say Qatar and Macedonia have agreed to mutually protect and promote investments, as well as to cooperate on tourism.
The office of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has not made public any details on the treaties signed Monday during a visit to Macedonia by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Macedonia and Qatar also inked agreements on culture, education and health following talks between Al Thani and Ivanov.
The Qatari leader, who is accompanied by a 100-member business delegation, will meet Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Tuesday.

200,000 Euros in Subsidies for Tour Ops who bring Foreign Tourists

By now, some EUR 200,000 in subsidies has been paid to tour operators who brought foreign tourists to Macedonia. The Macedonian Ministry of Economy has informed that even more means have been provided for this purpose for the next year. 

Some EUR 1 million has been projected for 2012. In the meantime, applications for subsidies for July and August are ongoing. Tourists from the Netherlands, Russia and Denmark come to Macedonia, says Zoran Nikolovski of the Ministry of Economy. 

The authorities are overwhelmed by the increase in the number of tourists coming to Macedonia. They expect higher foreign currency influx and Macedonia to be put on the global tourist maps.

Skopje Becoming a Tourist Mecca

Last year most foreign tourists visited Ohrid, but this year most of them went to the capital, Skopje. Of total 55,323 tourists in June, nearly one half spent their vacations in Skopje, whereas the rest decided on spa resorts and other tourist destinations. 

Tourist season in Macedonia started with a quarter more foreign tourists than last year. According to the data of the Macedonian State Statistical Office, in June 25% percent more foreigners visited Macedonia compared to the same month last year.

Most tourists came from Turkey, Greece, the UK and the Netherlands. However, foreign guests spend on average 2.8 nights in Skopje before moving on to other Macedonian locations.

Macedonia becomes part of dutch tourism offer

Ohrid hotel owners and representatives of tour-operator TUI Netherlands signed over the weekend an agreement for lease of holidays at the Ohrid Lake for the coming three seasons.

TUI Netherlands is planning to sell over 7,000 holidays for the next season, along with increase of charter flights to Ohrid.

Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Vladimir Pesevski and TUI officials held Monday a meeting focused on the operator's plans in Macedonia for the coming period.

"We referred to possibilities for improvement of Macedonia's tourism offer. It is of enormous significance for us to improve Macedonia's competitiveness on the global market. Therefore, we aim towards increasing the quality and diversity of our tourism sector", stated Pesevski.

TUI is a leader in the Dutch tourism industry, producing 1,3 million holidays at the country's market in 2010, with a turnover of EUR 1,4 billion. TUI Netherlands is part of the TUI Travel Group, a leading tour-operator in Europe, working in 180 countries and servicing over 30 million tourists in global terms. TUI owns 150 airplanes and employs approximately 49,000 people at six continents.