CNBC: Macedonia among ten Hottest destinations for 2011

[Risto the Great]

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/17139/2/

Macedonia is ranked among the ten hottest destinations to visit in 2011 according to U.S. Business Magazine, part of the CNBC network.

"Macedonia has long been an under-the-radar sort of tourist destination. Though the capital, Skopje, has a certain ramshackle Ottoman charm, its Lake Ohrid, on the border with Albania, which most visitors reserve the superlatives for.

Think of Lake Como with hubble-bubble pipes and exquisite waterside Orthodox churches and you come close to the unique spirit of this geologically ancient body of water. Ohrid, the delightful main town, is developing a cool summer eating, drinking and partying scene. Now run by expanding Turkish operator TAV, both Skopje and Ohrid airports are due to be modernised in the near future", says the Business Magazine.

Other destinations recommended are Florianopolis (Brazil), Belgian city Antwerp, Colombia, Algeria, Syrian capital Damascus, Kalpitya Peninsula (Sri Lanka), Basilicata (Italy), Chicago and Taiwan.

Nice to see.

Not sure about Florianopolis in Brazil though.

[makedonche]

RTG
Florianopolis in Brazil, didn't you know that? It was discovered by England/France/Germany in the early 1800's around 1830, it is hellenic and has been for 4,000 years. One of the earliest teachers was a bloke called Socrates Hernandez.

[Phoenix]

As beautiful as Ohrid is, there's so much more to visiting Macedonia.
The real potential of the country hasn't even had its surface scratched, for a relatively small country it punches well above its weight when it comes to history, culture and physical beauty.

A few tour companies have started tours in Macedonia and speaking to a few tourists (Aus-Macedonians) who have taken these tours they came back with very positive comments.

I'd like to see Macedonia taking more advantage of the rich wine making traditions in the country. It would be good if the wine makers worked closer with the local food producers and local (and regional/international) chefs in making the most of the clean and fresh produce that the country has to offer.
This wine making and local food collaboration (together with other influences) has totally transformed the culinary experiences of Australia and New Zealand and is a big part of these two countries tourism promotions...perhaps Macedonia could learn from these types of regional industries in Australia and New Zealand.

[Risto the Great]

Done it in a nutshell Phoenix.
Well done.
Agreed.

[Phoenix]

Done it in a nutshell Phoenix.
Well done.
Agreed.

Thanks mate, your mention of nutshells has just reminded me of something else that is seldom promoted by Macedonians beyond our own culture and that's food like baklava.

Now this is obviously an Eastern inspired dish that is quite popular with the Western palette, its a desert that is eaten from the Balkans to the Middle East and I reckon we do it as good as any of them...so why should we leave the promotion of baklava as a 'local' dish to the likes of the 'greeks', the Turks and the Lebanese alone, when it is entrenched in our culinary culture just the same, the list of these food influences is long and every one of them we do with absolute respect and justice...its time we promoted them as our own, just like all of our neighbours do...

[Dejan]

Yeah, a food tour of Macedonia would be a good idea

[Frank]

There is so much more to see in comparison to Croatia which is a Tourism giant now

I doubt Macedonia will be known to more then a handful of Australians of Macedonian heritage, as the locals just want to leave on the next bus to the European Capitals and never return

[fyrOM]

...its time we promoted them as our own, just like all of our neighbours do...

Guys get off the souvlaki…it does strange things to your brain…it’s a hallucinogen which some have reported delusions…both grandeur and otherwise…impaired cognitive thinking paranoia and kleptomania followed by bouts of rage followed by touching oneself as part of its symptoms. In some circles reports say it can even turn you into a Greek.

Yes…I can see the promo now…
Come to sunny Macedonia where you can have the authentic Macedonian cuisine Donnar Kebab for mains or try an Iskender Kebab just for a change followed by sweet Baklava for desert with a nice authentic mellow Macedonian coffee the kind in the little cups.

Gees guys if you threw in some lokum you’ve just described one of my favourite meals but last time I had it was at a Turkish place.

[Onur]

I think Macedonia should start promotions in Turkey. Croatia does that for a year and i heard that only in 5 days of time in Kurban bayram, more than 13.000 Turkish people gone to the city of Dubrovnik alone. Currently, Croatia doesn't ask for visa for Turkish citizens but this will be over when they will be EU member soon and i am sure the number of Turkish tourists in Croatia will drop dramatically since no one prefers to deal with 10+ days long visa process of EU member countries.

I think Macedonia can lure these people and you can be sure that Turkish tourists spends 5 times more than regular German or British tourist. It`s obvious that Turkish people prefers other close directions than Greece since Greece cannot offer anything different than we already have in Turkey. In Greece, it`s same sea and sun with worse quality of service, so it`s not that desirable for us and ofc there are EU visa regulations for Greece.

Yes…I can see the promo now…
Come to sunny Macedonia where you can have the authentic Macedonian cuisine Donnar Kebab for mains or try an Iskender Kebab just for a change followed by sweet Baklava for desert with a nice authentic mellow Macedonian coffee the kind in the little cups.

Gees guys if you threw in some lokum you’ve just described one of my favourite meals but last time I had it was at a Turkish place.

LOL, ofc i am not talking about a promotion like that for Turkish tourists since i think they would prefer to do all these in Turkey instead.

Btw you forgot hamam, hehe You know, you have hamams in Macedonia too but are these still serving as Hamams or all are closed???

[fyrOM]

Ohrid has some nice hotels but the lake as tourist destination is underdeveloped. More better hotels offering a cheaper price for better value will bring people. Further if you don’t have a beech…make lemonade…promote the fresh clean springs of Ohrid lake. They need to clean up some of the pollution and improve the look of the place. A very under utilised resource. People want clean an green and where they will feel welcome. The Macedonian…particularly those living in Ohrid…don’t know how much of a gold mine they have on their doorstep and take it for granted. They will be sorry when foreign companies set up hotels to a higher standard and have all the tourists.

[xX2FaDeD247Xx]

Wouldn't mind seeing some decent snow fields set up in Macedonia for snowboarding/skiing....gets cold enough for it! =P

[Risto the Great]

Agreed Faded, with modern technology and best practice in snowfields easy to identify, Macedonia could easily implement enough to make their ski resorts top destinations. It is cold enough, it is high enough and it would be cheap!
I'd bring my board!

[Risto the Great]

Ohrid needs a lot of work in my opinion.
The service is still not what I would regard as top quality from European tourist destinations.

[Blagojce]

Not sure about Florianopolis in Brazil though.

Whats wrong with Florianopolis?

Heard they've got some amazing beaches. Would be worth visiting one day.

[Risto the Great]

I don't know, I thought I would see this guy there based on the name:



But further research has revealed, this is more likely:



In which case, perhaps I might withdraw my first comment.