Economics of Tourism: Recent Developments in Macedonia

Tourism is the world’s largest industry and is a major area of interest, not just because of its size in terms of enormous number of travelers, passengers, visitors and tourists, or the size of their consumption, but also because of the enormous impact on the national economies and people’s lives. Tourism has proven to be a surprisingly strong and resilient economic activity and a fundamental contributor to the economic recovery by generating billions of dollars in exports and creating millions of jobs. The international tourist arrivals reached 1,138 million in 2014 (a 4.7% increase over 2013), while the number of overnight visitors reached 1,138 million in 2014 (51 million more than in 2013). With an increase of 4.7%, this is the fifth consecutive year of above average growth since the 2009 economic crisis. This has been true for destinations all around the world, but particularly for Europe, as the region struggles to consolidate its way out of one of the worst economic periods in its history. For the upcoming period, it is forecasted an increase of 3% to 4%, further contributing to the global economic recovery. This book seeks to outline the economic aspects of tourism. Moreover, it outlines the broad approach of the economic effects of tourism on national economy. It attempts to encourage the reader to conceptualize the most recent tourism developments in Macedonia. It poses two main parts, whereas the first is written by Prof. Ivanka Nestoroska and gives an overview of tourism in Macedonia, while the second is written by Prof. Biljana Petrevska and discusses tourism contribution to economic development. The first part of the book notes the main development characteristics of the most complex arena within which tourism operates. It describes the organizational and human resources aspects, as well as the scopes and dynamics of tourism flows. Furthermore, the first part highlights tourism potentials and future prospects by elaborating the case of Macedonia. The second part approaches with more standard debates associated with tourism development and its impacts from economic manner. It encourages the reader to use facts and figures for further discussions, by noting the significance of relational approaches in economics of tourism. The authors hope that this book although being imperfect, can assist and encourage students and practitioners to think about and practice tourism in the manner that will be considerably improved.