TAV HOSTED SPANISH TRAVEL AGENCIES AND AN INFLUENTIAL BLOGGER: WE ARE PROMOTING MACEDONIA AS A TOURISTIC DESTINATION TO ENCOURAGE OPENING AIR ROUTES TO SPAIN

TAV Macedonia, together with the incoming tour operator Balkan Prime Tours from Skopje, welcomed and hosted an influential Spanish blogger and representatives of 7 renowned travel agencies from Spain, in order to create interest in Macedonia as a travel destination among Spanish travelers, thus to encourage airlines to launch direct air routes between the two countries. 

-“As an airport operator we, always hear the requests of our passengers. Many of them are wishing for air routes from Skopje to Barcelona and Madrid, as well to other attractive destinations in Spain. Therefore, as part of TAV Macedonia’s marketing strategy and promotional activities, together with the Macedonian tour operator Balkan Prime Tours, we have invited the most prominent travel agencies from Spain, together with an influential travel blogger, in order to introduce Macedonia and its huge tourism potential as a new destination to Spanish travelers. We already have an interest in Macedonians to travel to Spain, so we figured out that we need to create interest among Spanish travelers, in order to encourage airlines to establish direct routes between the two countries. At the same time, we are working on attracting airlines to start to fly from both Skopje and Ohrid airports to targeted and attractive leisure destinations in Spain”, stated Metin Batak, TAV Macedonia General Manager.  

The Spanish guests, during their 4-day stay, visited Kale Fortress, Old Bazaar, Stone Bridge, Mother Teresa's birthplace in Skopje, Painted Mosque in Tetovo, Ohrid old town, Heraclea in Bitola, and woodcarving shop, and a winery in Kavadarci. They had a chance to listen to the story of the Macedonian ruby, to meet the official photographer of the festival Struga Poetry Evenings, as well as to learn about the history of the famous Ohrid pearls. They were hosted by the Spanish Ambassador in the country, who also supported this initiative. 

-“The idea was to create an experience wherein our guests would feel the Macedonian hospitality and discover authentic Macedonia through meeting local people. Therefore, we took them to taste the unique local and traditional food prepared by a local family in Bitola, along with the Macedonian wines”, explained TAV Macedonia officials.  

As the company reports, their marketing activities to attract new airlines and open new destinations are continuous, ongoing constantly. 

Supported by its mother company, TAV Airports, the Macedonian airport operator participates on the most significant tourism and aviation fairs globally, initiates meetings and negotiations with different airlines, with a main goal - to increase the number of destinations and the number of passengers at both Skopje and Ohrid airports. Within these marketing activities, TAV Macedonia promotes not only the Macedonian airports, but Macedonia as an undiscovered travel destination.      

TAV Macedonia finished the period between January – October of 2022, with 2 million (2.031.562) passengers at both Macedonian airports – Skopje International Airport and Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport. This is -11% compared to the same period in 2019, which is considered as a referent year in aviation, or the pre-COVID-19 period. Compared to the period January – October in 2021, passenger numbers at Skopje and Ohrid airports are recovering, i.e., from January until October it showed an increase by 78%.