Award for Hotel Makpetrol Struga

The yearly magazine of tourist agency "Corendon" from the Netherlands that began bringing tourists to Ohrid Lake last year unveiled the evaluations of tourists regarding the hotel capacities on the Ohrid Riviera. 

From all the hotels the tourists stayed in, they gave the best grade - 8,7 to hotel "Makpetrol" in Struga. The grades for the hotels are result of different, good and bad experiences of Dutch and Belgian guests that visited Macedonia through tour operator "Corendon" and they look like this: Ineks Gorica 7,0; Sileks 7,0; Beograd 7,0; Turist 7,2; Metropol 7,3; Diplomat 7,8; Donco 7,9 and Belvedere 8,3. 

The tourist arrangements of "Corendon" and other tour operators will offer Macedonia this year as well. It is expected for the number of Dutch and Belgian tourists, who visit Ohrid Lake in the period from May to October, to exceed last year's number of 10,000 guests.

Mak Hotels get a new ranking system

Macedonian hotel owners will face stiff new rules if they wish to keep their stars/ratings.
The Macedonian Ministry of Economy has created a rigorous set of rules that will apply for categorization and rankings for hotels to follow. For instance the new rules will mean some of the hotels will have to expand their rooms, others to have educated employees, pools, to accept credit cards etc.
The new law is already moving quickly through Parliament and will soon be passed.
According to the new rules, hotels with one star must have a minimum of 10 rooms. Those with three stars must have minimum of 15 rooms, while those with four and five stars must have a minimum of 20 rooms.
Each four star hotel must have a pool, and to earn the five stars ranking they must have at the very least a spa and a fitness center.
Regardless whether hotels are one or five stars, all must accept credit cards, while each employee must speak at least one foreign language.
Because Macedonia has many large hotels (more than 50 rooms), the law instructs each hotel to have at least one room designed for handicapped individuals for every 30 rooms. In the past it was for every 50 rooms.
According to the Ministry of Economy, out of the 200 hotels in the country, 190 are ranked. Eleven hotels have 5 stars.
All hotels will have two years after the passing of the law to meet the new requirements.

Numbers of Hotels in Macedonia Increased by 51.2%

In the period of 12 years, from 1999 to 2010, the number of hotels in Macedonia increased by 51.2 percent, from 82 to 124 hotels.
On the other hand, the number of hotel rooms dropped by 4.5 percent, from 5,916 to 5,651, in the same period, while the number of beds decreased by 13 percent, from 14,564 to 12,734, show the data of the analysis on Macedonian hotels in terms of change, which was carried out by Mitre Avramovski of Ohrid Tourism Faculty.
Reasons for such a situation are a chaotic transition and shutting down of numerous hotels built during the period of former Yugoslavia as well as construction and opening of smaller hotels.

Construction of an elite hotel in Ohrid

Macedonian Ministry of Transport has invited a tender for the sale of a building lot owned by the Republic of Macedonia in Ohrid. A five-star hotel is envisaged to be built at the location.

The initial auction price for the lot of the total surface of 15,878 sqm is MKD 61 sqm. All interested parties can apply for the auction by October 26. The auction will be held on November 2, 2010