Today, on Thelma Television's Morning Program, Prof. PhD. Sashko Gramatnikovski, dean of the Faculty of Tourism at the University of Tourism and Management in Skopje. Gramatnikovski spoke about the situation in the tourism sector after the pandemic, and in particular he referred to the systemic problems we are facing in Macedonia.

Gramatnikovski stressed that after the pandemic, the tourism sector lost its driving force - people. Professionals began to retrain and seek their livelihood in other sectors, and a huge part of them went out of the country. According to Gramatnikovski, the country is facing a huge shortage of staff, and the quality of services is drastically decreasing because the workers are not properly trained and improvise in their work positions.

The professor pointed out that it is the University of Tourism and Management that creates quality staff that helps raise tourism services in the country to the highest level. Membership in the World Tourism Organization allows the University to receive first-hand information on world trends in tourism, on the problems faced by this sector, as well as on the most effective solutions to current challenges.

"We do not have the basic structure through which the tourism sector should function. For example, we do not have a National Tourism Organization. Furthermore, if we really want to elevate tourism and place it where it should belong, a ministry of tourism needs to be created. There is no serious tourist destination that does not have such a ministry," said Dean Gramatnikovski.

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer, the number of international tourists has tripled from January to July 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. In Macedonia in this period in 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of tourists has increased by 53.3%.