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FYR
Macedonia
Totem
involvement 1999 - 2003
"Macedonian
Lakeland…
Land of Light"
Shimmering
lakes, soaring mountains, superb hospitality and a
millennium of culture.
More
than a millenium ago, the Balkan Lakelands were at the
very heart of a glorious enlightenment in art, culture
and beauty. A flowering of learning developed on the
shores of these deep and dramatically beautiful lakes
which spread to every part of Europe and beyond. |
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Heavenly
icons and mosaics were created, splendid frescoes painted,
manuscripts written and one of the world's first and most
learned universities established which sent its pupils to every
part of the Slavic world.
At
the very centre of this upsurge of creativity was a beautiful
town set by Europe's deepest lake and surrounded by three
mountains, named by the ancient Greeks Lychidnos 'City of Light'
and now known as Ohrid.
Clean
air, beautiful sights, cultural pursuits, good food and a
friendly population make the Balkan Lakelands an ideal tourism
destination.
The
growth of mass tourism in the 1960's and 70's saw a number of
large "Factory" hotels built in the area and tourism
has been developed along extremely regimented lines. By 1999,
the former Yugoslav distribution chains that delivered
substantial tourist arrivals no longer existed, due to the
breakup of former Yugoslavia. Ochrid was left with a dated
infrastructure and no viable mechanism to develop it. The
challenge was to utilise the tourism assets in a sustainable way
and to the long term benefit of both the tourist and the local
population.
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Created
training programmes for local tourism-related
businesses.
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Created
an effective group of local people interested in
developing tourism.
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With
the group, created a number of trails specifically
focussed on wine, beer, culture and natural scenery to
define the local tourist routes with specialist travel
products.
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Created
a marketing plan to market the trails to a new
marketplace.
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Marketing
the trails via press releases to selected well-briefed
journalists.
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Marketing
the trails through travel trade and consumer shows
including assistance at the:
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World Travel Market - London
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ITB Berlin
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Vakantie Netherlands
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BIT Milan
And
who benefits?
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Major
promotions are now taking place to put
Moravia on the sustainable tourism map.
Back to Case
History Index
©
2003 TOTEM Updated: 31/05/03
email: info@TotemTourismMarketing.org
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