It may sound obvious that one must start with a strong foundation to build a solid product. Yet, for years the tourism trade was predicated on giving travelers superficial experiences and cursory, survey bus tours of entire countries, regions, and cultures. This is no longer the case. Today’s adventurer demands authenticity. And, the exciting win-win with this new philosophy: villages and communities run the show and provide the tourism industry with centuries of expertise while reinvigorating their local pride.
For this session in the Western Balkans Adventure Travel Webinar Series, we’ll speak with Aleksandar Donev, the director of the Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism of the Republic of Macedonia. The discussion will center around community tourism, where it fits into a larger national masterplan, and the need for education and promotion.
Register here for this month’s Western Balkans Adventure Travel Webinar—which will air on Thursday, October 26, at 9:30 a.m. EST (3:30 p.m. CET). As always listeners are invited to ask questions and chime in. (The webinar will be archived and free.)
The Western Balkans has become Europe’s adventure playground. National Geographic Traveler named the Via Dinarica hiking trail, which runs through the middle of the region, one of its “Best of the World” destinations for 2017. The trail links and traverses Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
In response to this energy and excitement, we invite all those interested to participate in our Webinar Series. Alex Crevar, who has covered the Balkans (The New York Times, Lonely Planet, and National Geographic) as a travel journalist for 20 years, moderates and tackles topics of interest to the adventure travel industry—for both professionals and travelers.
The monthly series is brought to you by the Western Balkans Geotourism Network and the Via Dinarica Alliance. These cross-border cooperatives are committed to strengthening the region’s sustainability through responsible tourism. The series is hosted by Balkan Vibe, the premier travel platform for the Western Balkans, offering the widest range of tours for the region as well as a seamless booking and credit-card payment system. The series is supported by the USAID/REG project.