The Government today held a regular meeting of the Committee for foreign and direct investment, reads Dnevnik. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski.
It has been concluded that the government’s support of the 155 millions planned for subsidies for bringing organized groups of foreign tourists, is giving results that can be observed in the increase of the number of tourists in the country, which raises the possibility of improving this kind of support. It was pointed out that from 2006 to 2013 the number of foreign tourists has doubled, to 98 percent.
In addition, analysis was made of the provided flights with cheaper fares. It was also mentioned that in addition to the existing flights to Malme, Dortmund, Munich, Basel, London, Eindhoven and Milan, Stockholm and Gothenburg three new flights to Paris, Frankfurt and Brusselshad been introduced. Subsidized travel tours have expanded to China and India during this year. The United States, Britain, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Azerbaijan and Germany will be added to the list beginning 2015. At the same time, they discussed the possibility and potential for further expansion of this new list of countries, which will be the focus of detailed analysis during the next session of the Committee.
A sum up of the results of the measures taken in the last period such as the reduction of VAT from 18 per cent to five percents for staying overnight, accommodations including breakfast, half board and full board packages, marking the tourist areas along corridors 8 and 10, subsidies for various tourist events and bringing foreign guests, and amendments to the laws on tourist development zones, tourism and catering activities was also made.
It was discussed about the country promotion on tourism fairs and lobbying to attract more foreign tourists from new markets through state subsidies related to attracting foreign tourists, and many other topics.
- See more at: http://www.independent.mk/articles/8556/Macedonian+Committee+for+Foreign+and+Direct+Investments+Number+of+Tourists+Doubled#sthash.T1bp50SR.dpuf
