Skopje, 11 December- Today, SNV and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, supported by the Ministry of Economy and ZELS (Association of Municipalities in Macedonia) had a very successful event called 'Stock Taking Workshop on Rural Tourism Development' which took place in Skopje.
The event was opened by H.E. Mr. Fatmir Besimi, Minister of Economy, who stressed the importance of tourism for Macedonian economy. “The government will support the development of the tourism through the promotion of tourist assets of Macedonia in some international media and will invite tour operators to visit our country as well”, Mr Besimi said.
H.E. Ms. Simone Filippini, EKN Ambassador in Macedonia said in an interview after the conference that the Macedonian authorities have understood that the rural development is a big priority for Macedonia, because it brings innovations at the local level, generates employment for rural people and can motivate the economic development of the country in general.
The aim of the stock taking workshop was to bring together different stakeholders dealing with tourism initiatives. The audience consisted of around 50 people, mainly high officials like Mayors, Directors of National Agencies, Head of Sectors within Ministries, Tourism Chamber of Commerce, distinguished university professors from Tourism Faculties, high representatives of donor community (like USAID, GTZ, UNDP), other business community representatives, etc.
Eight “flag” real tourist cases were presented, from selected projects implemented in rural areas all over the country. Majority of presentations/cases were coming from SNV’s clients, while the rest came by local institutions supported by other donors in Macedonia.
“This is like a mosaic: when you see only one piece, you don’t understand the value of the picture, but when you see it as a whole, you recognize its importance”, says Peter Kampen, SNV Portfolio Coordinator in Skopje. “Rural tourism is a big potential in Macedonia, but most of the time people in the region are not enough aware about it, about the valuable assets they possess”-, Kampen stresses.
So far, SNV has helped the municipality of Krusevo to develop a strategy and an action plan for local tourism development (TSAP), in a very participatory way with the involvement of all stakeholders and interest groups. As a result, the municipality secured substantial financial resources for the implementation of several projects, including 177,100 euro from the Ministry of Transport and Communication, and 25,000 euro from an EU source. The projects that these funds enable to take place are important for a small city with an unemployment rate of 35% in a population of 10,000.
SNV in Macedonia has chosen to focus its services for impact in three focal areas: agriculture, forestry and tourism. All three focal areas stand for the rural development and correspond well with the national development agenda.
For more information, please contact Nehat Ramadani, SNV advisor, Skopje at nramadani@snvworld.org