thanks to primitive albanians but then again albanians have more monies than Croats so they can go to Dalmatia.
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The Macedonian govt works well with the ethnic Macedonian emigrant communities around the world, and encourages investment and tourism from these groups. We even have members of parliament now from Western Europe, Australasia and the Americas representing these communities in the Macedonian parliament. The problem is Macedonian-Albanians do not want to participate in this, and instead would rather work towards the destruction of Macedonia and the formation of greater albania. You guys are too busy raising funds for the next UCK rebellion.
Bullshit. First of all majority of the diaspora are Albanians and the Albanians always come back to Macedonia during the summer and winter. They invest tons of money into the country and boost the economy, build businesses, homes, purchases, etc. Macedonians for the most part don't return.
Also, I'm not surprised by your Anti-Albanian attitude. You have probably never met an Albanian in your life living in Australia and you probably haven't visited the country much if not ever.. All Australian Maks are fed with propaganda and develop a strong hate for Albanians especially.
Not true FYROMiak #2. Albanians diasporians spend funds in Macedonia.....a lot of money. Think of all the money Albanians spend building houses or consumption or the weddings done in the summer time. The VAT taxes go somewhere, definitely not for any UCK rebellion probably towards building another Greek statue.
Actually I do know Albanians and actually went to school with some and even counted them as friends. Macedonian-Australians actually regularly visit the homeland during the summer months, because it is winter in Australia then. We don't need to buy property etc. because we keep our ancestoral properties in the family. We however do spend money as tourists and on helping family and friends. Some more wealthier Aussie-Maks invest in businesses in Macedonia.
Any anti-Albanian attitutes comes from the fact that you guys are killing Macedonians. Those Macedonians are our relatives and friends. You are seeking to destroy our homeland. How do you expect us to feel?
Yes they do. Sheshi Skenderbej (Skenderbeg Square) will cost around 10 million. The total project of Skopje 2014 is around 400 million. You do the math.
Anyways Grizzly's original question was if the figures provided by Wiki separated the tourists from the emigrants.
The below website provides a publication in terms of domestic vs. foreign tourists:
http://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziPosled..._en.aspx?id=18
Quickly looking at the publication, there are a total of 586,241 tourists for 2010. 324,525 are domestic and 261,696 are foreign tourists, thus, the majority of the tourists appear to be emigrants.
In addition, there is a breakdown of the origin of the foreign tourists but not the of domestic tourists. The foreign tourists showed 3,967 people from Australia visited FYROM in 2010. Since 92% of FYROMians in Australia hold Australian citizenship it is fair to assume the Macedonians (and to a lesser extent Albanians from Macedonia) are included in this amount. Most Albanian emigrants are in Europe and do not hold citizenship in these countries (which is reinforced in the same paper claiming 4% of Macedonian residents in Switzerland hold Swiss citizenship.)
Point is Australian Makos do not visit their country and are out of touch with reality LULzzzz. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm reading the statistics incorrectly. But it appears to me these domestic tourists appear to be mostly Albanian. No wonder a breakdown wasn't provided for them.
http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=92704948&lId=2
Macedonia's tourist offer presented to Serbian tour operators
Skopje, 2 April 2012 (MIA) - Tour operators and journalists from Serbia in the next three days will examine fresh potentials from Macedonia's tourist offer. The plan is interesting offers to be made for tourists from Serbia in addition to Ohird, the most visited tourist resort. New potentials will be sought in the tourist offer of Skopje, Bitola, Prilep, Staro Nagoricane, the national parks of Mavrovo and Pelister...
Serbian tour operators on Monday at a meeting with representatives of the Association of Catering and Tourism at the Chamber of Commerce of Macedonia analysed possibilities for increasing the number of tourists. They said their expectations were based on cut down prices of the offer in Macedonia, its subsidies intended for foreign tour operations, the proximity between Macedonia and Serbia.
"We've come here to get to know the potential of Macedonia better. Ohird is promoted the most, but we will inspect Skopje, Bitola, Prilep, Mavrovo and Pelister as well. An excellent coopperation has been established with the Macedonian embassy," said Nina Tomic of the Matiko travel agency in Belgrade.
30.000 tourists from Serbia visit Macedonia annually. Ohird is their top destination especially in the summer.
President of the Association of Catering and Tourism, Snezana Jovanovska said she expected the number of tourists to rise as a result of the low prices and subsidies for all tour operators. "The future of Macedonia's tourist offer are tourists from Balkan countries and we have to focus more on them," she stressed.
According to her, the visit by Serbian tour operators is a good opportunity to boost the cooperation and to share experiences. More tourists this year will be attracted with improved security and quality of services and with low prices.
Serbian ambassador to Macedonia, Tomislav Gjurin said Macedonia was a favorite tourist summer resort for many Serbians. "Tourists from Serbia are coming with good will, they are welcomed with hospitality, everything is organised, the countries are near and most importantly the prices are acceptable," he stated.
Tourism cooperation must be enhanced considering its importance to both economies. "In 2011, trade exchange between Macedonia and Serbia was boosted significantly and stood at US$850 million. Our plan and vision is trade exchange to reach billion dollars in 2012 despite the economic crisis in Europe and worldwide. Tourism plays an important part," ambassador Gjurin said. ba/17:19
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Ohrid top destinaton for Serbian tourists.
Tour operators and journalists from Serbia examined fresh potentials from Macedonia's tourist offer. 30.000 tourists from Serbia visit Macedonia annually. Ohrid is their top destination especially in the summer.
President of the Association of Catering and Tourism, Snezana Jovanovska said she expected the number of tourists to rise as a result of the low prices and subsidies for all tour operators. Serbian ambassador to Macedonia, Tomislav Gjurin said Macedonia was a favorite tourist summer resort for many Serbians. "Tourists from Serbia are coming with good will, they are welcomed with hospitality, everything is organized, the countries are near and most importantly the prices are acceptable, " he stated.
Tourism cooperation must be enhanced considering its importance to both economies. "In 2011, trade exchange between Macedonia and Serbia was boosted significantly and stood at US$850 million. Our plan and vision is trade exchange to reach billion dollars in 2012 despite the economic crisis in Europe and worldwide. Tourism plays an important part," ambassador Gjurin said.
COPYRIGHT 2012 Macedonian Information Centre
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setime.../12/feature-02
Region gears up for summer tourist season
12/05/2012
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setime...ARINAphoto.jpg
Visitors at the Skopje Travel Market tourist fair. [Tomislav Georgiev/SETimes]
Regional countries are expanding and improving their tourist offerings for the upcoming summer season, but many are co-operating to jointly attract a higher number of tourists and bring in more revenue.
"Integrated tourist offers are a great chance for us all. Overseas tourists would not come to visit only one country; it is a very different situation when they are offered [the chance] to visit the most important places in several countries," Vlado Srbinovski, of the Macedonian Agency for Support and Promotion of Tourism, told SETimes.
Last month, more than 200 state and private tourist agencies from Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Slovenia participated in the Skopje Travel Market tourist fair to showcase their offerings and to offer early bird packages, including those for joint travel.
"We want to bring our tourist destinations closer to the people, and that’s why we participate in this fair," Tina Grdzinik, of the Slovenia Tourism Organisation, told SETimes.
Other tourism officials said the packages they offer accentuate the region's natural beauty as well as lesser known tourist treasures the Balkans has in abundance.
The trend is to embrace the variety of alternatives as opposed to mass tourism, and it can be captured in one phrase -- "Back to Nature," according to Srbinovski.
"Macedonia, for example, is not only Ohrid. There is also the ancient observatory Kokino, [the volcanic rocks site] Kuklica, the many truly gorgeous mountains, national parks and monasteries," Srbinovski said.
Olgica Miljkovic, of the Serbia Tourism Organisation, explained the country's strategy is to enrich the offer by promoting a particular theme every year.
"This year ... we are offering health spa tourism. There is rural tourism, of course, which is very attractive for tourists. They can stay in places throughout Serbia in a home ambience and consume local foods," Miljkovic told SETimes.
"But co-operation in the region is important, because it offers tourists a chance to connect, travel, learn about different cultures, meet each other, exchange experiences. We participate in exhibitions of this kind organised in the region," she said.
Officials said tourists -- including from the region -- are seeking change and novelty, but price plays a big part in the overall attractiveness of the offer.
Destinations in Northern Cyprus are increasingly popular, according to Stefan Jovanovski from the Let's Travel Group.
"The packages are favourable [price-wise] and charter flights begin in June and last until September," Jovanovski told SETimes.
But, in line with the integrated approach, Jovanovski emphasised his travel agency offers packages to all the places it has offices, including Dubrovnik, Budva, Sarajevo and Ohrid.
Croatia is aggressively targeting potential EU tourists and, like the other countries, expects significant dividends.
"The results in Dubrovnik during the first three months of this year show traffic increased by a third compared to last year," Minister of Tourism Veljko Ostojic said.
"That is also encouraging on a national level and that is why I would be satisfied if we have a repeat of last year's results," he said. Similarly, Montenegro tourism officials expect a 3% increase in revenue this year.
BiH officials estimate 250m euros in revenue from tourism this year, but argue the gain can be three times greater given the potential of medical and sports tourism. "Only through new ideas, products and programmes can we achieve our goals -- to lengthen the season and achieve better results to bring in more income," Branka Djuric, FBiH minister of tourism, told SETimes.
Many Skopje fair visitors said they were impressed by the variety and quality of the countries' tourism presentations as well as by the early bird packages, but confirmed they seek packages other than traditional beach vacations.
"I will decide between the spa resorts in Bulgaria and the tranquillity in a Serbian village," Olivera Stefanovska, 43, told SETimes.
Skopje Travel Fair
http://www.eragrupa.mk/en/SkopjeFair/