Kuratica welcomed the Dutch tourist with national dished and rakija

Second year in a row, the Kuratica local have welcomed the Dutch tourists, who stay in Ohrid - with national dishes and home made brandy - rakija.
During their one-day visit to the Kuratica village (Ohrid municipality), the Dutch tourists had the opportunity to see the local beauties, to enjoy the visit to the Mazatar mountain, with a donkey safari.

Source: http://ohridnews.com/index.php?mod=1&kat=4&id=42216

14.000 Dutch tourists to visit Macedonia this year

The first group of Dutch tourists will arrive to Ohrid on April 27, Economy Minister Valon Saraqini told reporters on Tuesday.

About 14.000 tourists only from the Netherlands are expected to visit Macedonia this year. Contacts have been also established with tour operators from Israel, Finland and countries form the region, he said.

"We wish for Macedonia to become an attractive tourist destination and have been working hard to that effect. A month ago we have promoted the new national strategy on rural tourism development," Saraqini said after opening the Skopje Travel Market 2012 fair.

The tourism, as fast-growing sector that creates new jobs, will also contribute substantially to the budget foreign currency inflow, he said.

Number of Foreign Tourists in Macedonia keeps Increasing

In October 2011, the number of tourists in Macedonia amounted to 49,379 and the number of bed-nights reached 119,198, informed the Macedonian State Statistical Office.
These figures show that the number of tourists increased by 17 percent and the number of bed-nights by 24.1 percent compared to October last year.In the same period, the number of Macedonian tourists dropped by 5.8 percent, while the number of foreign tourists increased by 35.2 percent.
Year-on-year, the number of bed-nights of Macedonian tourists increased by 6.1 percent despite the decrease of the number of tourists, and the number of bed-nights of foreign tourists grew by 41.2 percent. Analyses on what this really means for the state budget will be published in a week.

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.

Finnish tourists more than satisfied from Ohrid vacation

Finnish tourists who spent their summer vacation for the first time in Ohrid are satisfied from the visit to Macedonia. The internal poll conducted by the Finnish tour operator “Aurinkomatkat” showed that the guests were pleasantly surprised by overall tourist offer, mostly from hospitality of the Macedonian people.
According to answers by guests given in the poll comprised of 30 questions, Macedonia was evaluated 4.42 of maximum grade 5, which is very positive information, mainly for the tour operator which already has announced increase of charter flights for Ohrid next year.
Director of the Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism Zoran Strezoski said that further attraction of guest should be promoted in services of hotel management from aspect to use world standards.

Ohrid - leading tourist destination in Macedonia.

He added that we should continue to believe that Ohrid and Macedonia have much to offer, to follow world trends, but we should work on alleviation of shortages and improvement of infrastructure.
Around 1.000 guests from Finland spent summer vacation for the first time in Ohrid accommodated in famous hotels. Ten charter flights from Helsinki to Ohrid with 100 tourists were realised.
Tour operator “Aurinkomatkat” which placed Macedonia in its tourist offer, is part of Fin Air company and is one of the largest tour operators in Finland, providing services to over 350.000 tourists per year.
Source: http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=88035744&lId=2&pmId=504

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.