In the program "Macedonia in the morning" on MRTV, on the topic of tourism in Macedonia, the vice-rector for teaching at UTMS, prof. PhD. Mijalce Gjorgievski.
Prof. PhD. Gjorgievski stressed that the crisis in tourism in Macedonia is not directly related to the pandemic and world events, but that it has been going on for a long time. The pandemic has closed tourist destinations not only in the country, but in the whole world, and the latest energy crisis has hit hotels with high electricity bills.
"The government needs to find solutions, to bridge this period and spend the winter, as it was with the pandemic, so that there is no closing of the hotels, as there have been announcements", emphasized Prof. Dr. Gjorgievski added that if the crisis lasts for a longer period, the Government will have to find a longer-term strategy to overcome it.
"There was no emergency strategy until now, because the world was open, and tourism, together with the information sector, was the fastest growing sector. Macedonia has strategies for tourism, but they are made by foreigners, who cannot know our situation. Nobody has ever consulted our institution in that regard," said Prof. PhD. Gjorgievski. According to him, science is used little in Macedonia, and it is science, combined with practice, that moves the world forward.
Professor Gjorgievski pointed out that tourism has been changing in the last 20-30 years, in a way that classic summer and winter vacations are becoming less attractive and less represented in relation to shorter trips of smaller groups for different purposes throughout the year.
"Macedonia is ideal for new trends, for recreational tourism for example. The configuration of the terrain is like that, old mountains from the Rhodope massif. There are chances for alternative forms of tourism, rural, wine tourism, but the infrastructure and communications should be arranged first", continued Gjorgievski. He pointed to the example of Popova Shapka, which 40 years ago had a cable car from Tetovo to the ski slopes. Today, that cable car does not work, the road from the city down the mountain is bad, there is no new hotel built since 1989, there are no new facilities along the ski slopes. He pointed out that as a result, Popova Shapka, which existed even before Kopaonik and Bansko, is today on the margins of the ski destinations in the region.
Professor Gjorgievski also referred to the opportunities in Macedonia to develop sports tourism, not only that which is directly related to sports events, but also to the choice of destination precisely because of the offered opportunities for sports. Professor Gjorgievski pointed out that the Biljanin springs in Ohrid can become what Antalya is during the winter, a destination for the training of professional athletes, such as Istatovo in Dojran today.
At the end of his visit, the vice-rector for teaching prof. PhD Mijalce Gjorgievski emphasized that the University of Tourism and Management is always ready to contribute where necessary to raise tourism in Macedonia to the level it deserves, while creating quality staff for the tourism sector in Macedonia and abroad.