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At today’s press conference of Macedonian Chambers of Commerce (MCC) led by President of Tourism Chamber at MCC, Mr. Arkan Kerim, it was discussed about tourism opportunities offered by Macedonia, potential for promoting tourism, expansion of tourist activity in the area of the alternative tourism, and the need to continually investing in tourism in order to promote Macedonia in Europe and worldwide.
Macedonia is a country with good geographical location and favorable climate for tourism. Historical and cultural heritage, untouched nature, beautiful landscapes, organic soil, delicious food and good wine make it an attractive destination that attracts both domestic and foreign visitors, and their positive experiences are heard far away.
In fact, tourism is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in our country which has great opportunities to attract foreign and domestic visitors, which also provides an opportunity for new jobs. Investing in tourism, catering and culinary, as inseparable segments, development of staff and innovation undoubtedly give positive results. In this context, investment in training quality staff should be the motto of every company in the business tourism in Macedonia. Education and professional development constitute a continuous process, but the precision and tracking rules are crucial for the consistency and quality.
In order to continuously monitor global trends in tourism, the President of Tourism Chamber at Macedonian Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Arkan Kerim, attended the ITB Ministerial Round Table under the motto: Tourism in the 21st Century: New business models in the digital world – in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations. The focus of this event was the digitization of the economy and society as one of the dominant global megatrends, and the emergence of major structural changes in the tourism sector globally. Therefore extremely important is the successful management of the digital transformation of the tourism sector for it to be competitive and attractive.
“The Republic of Macedonia continuously directs its activities toward following of the trends when it comes to the development and improvement of tourism as one of the most significant industry. Also as part of the country’s efforts at improving the working conditions of tour operators, reducing the VAT from 18 to 5% in tourism, construction and modernization of infrastructure, subsidizing of air transport and increasing the number of flights from Macedonia to European capitals and the world and expanding the list of subsidies in order to increase the number of foreign tourists. Time for Europe to discover the beauty that we have in abundance and interest for Macedonia as a destination, at a time when traditional travel destinations have been already seen or unavailable due to circumstances, is huge, “said Kerim.
Each year there is a growing interest of Europeans to visit Macedonia. Foreign tour – operators strengthen the cooperation with Macedonian tour operators with which Macedonia is already part of their sales catalog for 2016. According to the State Statistical Office, the number of tourists in February 2016 was 32 467. The number of domestic tourists in February 2016, compared to February 2015, increased by 17.6%, while we have increased by 4.9% in the number of foreign tourists. We should strive to continuously work to maintain and increase this positive trend. Investment in the tourism is an investment in Macedonia.
13 april 2016
