Tourism in Macedonia

[iNird]

Am I supposed to thank Albanians now for visiting Macedonia?
If you don't like it, then stop coming and take those remaining in Macedonia with you, please.

No not at all. I don't expect gratitude from a shkja.

As for the 2nd part, your politicians and people who run the country would disagree. 15-20% of the GDP of many Balkan states come from the remittance of emigrants. Here's an article for FYROM

Here are other positive effects of the emigrants to FYROM:

Authors of the World Bank analysis suggest that remittances sent through informal channels could add at least 50% to the official estimate (WBa, 2006).

Migration and remittances may have important economic consequences. It is widely acknowledged that remittances have positive effect on the receiving country. Money sent by emigrants can reduce the poverty and generate substantial welfare gains for migrants and their families (WBa, 2006). Large size of remittances relative to other external flows and to the GDP indicates that macroeconomic effects are also substantial. Remittances flows can influence the foreign exchange rate, domestic interest rates, and the balance of payments. Large inflows can also have some undesirable side effects weakening the institutional capacity of the state.

link

Point is, FYROM would not be able to sustain itself without these people. How else do you expect FYROMia to support it's massive amount of state workers and the construction of Greek statues in Skopje?

[morski]

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[Aces High]

Macedonia here i come........

[iNird]

These videos are very well done. It can apply for most Balkan countries I think.

[Vojnik]

I agree with Nird. They were funny as well.

[Vojnik]

Macedonia here i come........

You would love it mate, trust me.

[Crn Volk]

Fascinating Macedonia beckons

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...6&parent_id=16

[iNird]

The latest Macedonian government tourism campaign went viral last week on You Tube, offending many Macedonians. The video clips have so far attracted more than 300,000 hits.

The seven one-minute clips portray Macedonians as rude, dishonest, aggressive and lazy hosts, followed by a message: We must not allow this to be the picture of Macedonia.

“Maybe not all citizens behave like that,” said Economy Minister Valjon Saracini, insisting that the ads are not offensive to Macedonians. He stressed that the ads can help improve the welcome that tourists receive when they are in Macedonia.

Saracini said the ads were deliberately filmed in a “guerrilla marketing style” so that they “grab attention”.

In the videos, so far available only on You Tube, an “Australian” modelled on the late Steve Irwin, presents viewers with several “Macedonian endemic species” such as a bed-and-breakfast owner, an alpha-male, a taxi driver, a lakeside waiter and a market vendor.

The final video features a “training centre for tourists heading to Macedonia” resembling a military training camp, where people wearing T-shirts reading Survive Macedonia are wakened at 3am by brass bands and told they need to get used to the noise.

Macedonia's opposition Liberal Democrats have accused the government of spending around 550,000 Euros on completely unsuccessful videos which will only scare away tourists. The Liberal Democrats urged the government not to broadcast the videos, which have English audio with Macedonian subtitles, in order to prevent further damage.

A former member of the state Anti-Corruption Commission, Dragan Malinovski, said that if the government does decide to withdraw the videos, someone should be held responsible. He noted that government advertising has been controversial in the past and that many individuals suspected of corruption have been involved in previous campaigns.

“These advertisements that should encourage moral and responsible conduct are often a source of corruption themselves,” Malinovski told Radio Free Europe.

The issue of adverts and promotions became a hot topic in 2009 when state auditors revealed that the government had spent more than 10 million Euros on campaigns and commercials in 2008.

A number of international media watchdogs and political opponents of the government have since complained about the government's use of advertising to gain more influence over the media.

“Disproportionate advertising by the Macedonian government – estimated to be the second largest source of advertising revenue in the country – unfairly distorts the media market and penalises media outlets that are critical of the government,” the International Partnership Group of freedom of expression organizations noted after visiting Macedonia last year.

OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has echoed these concerns.

For its part, the government insists that the advertisements are in the public interest.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...troversial-ads

The part in bold can apply to most of the Balkans.

[Crn Volk]

Ohrid Summer Festival now on;



http://www.ohridsummer.com.mk/

[Crn Volk]

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/21506/45/

What Ohrid? Crowded beaches in Dojran
Monday, 23 July 2012


With the return of the water levels in Dojran Lake, this southern resort is popular once again.



Dojran is back this year with its characteristic charm. Dojran is full of visitors.

Just during the month of July Dojran has seen over 20,000 tourists, which is quite a number considering the fact in previous years there was half of that during the entire summer.



The city is completely revitalized and low prices and natural beauty lure visitors.

Dojran is a historic town in the southeastern part of Macedonia on the shores of Lake Dojran, which was destroyed in World War II when it had only 18,000 inhabitants.



Today three settlements around Dojran Lake have the same name: Star Dojran, Nov Dojran and the village of Dojran.