Skopje, 2 December 2021 (MIA) – Improvement of the general development of cross-border regions Pelagonija, Florina and Thessaloniki through enhanced and sustainable use of their tourism potentials is part of the I-TOUR project, implemented within the Interreg CBC cross-border cooperation programme with Greece, financially supported by the European Union and the Ministry of Local Self-Government. I-TOUR has mapped, for the first time, all tourism potentials, benefiting at least 400,000 citizens in the regions of Pelagonija, Florina and Thessaloniki, of whom at least 30,000 live in rural areas, the Ministry of Local Self-Government said in a press release. Minister Goran Milevski told the project’s final conference on Thursday that cities in North Macedonia, especially Bitola and the Pelagonija region have tourism potential that must be utilized in the people’s interest. “This project is good for the region, because beneficiaries in the tourism sector included at least 100 service providers, 10 tour operators, 15 local self-government units, 50 civil society organizations, three cultural preservation institutions and five protected areas. This project has strengthened the territorial cohesion through improvement of the living standard and opportunities for employment of the local population, while considering the environment through the use of natural resources for promotion of the tourism product,” said Milevski. He added that cross-border adventure tourism projects already contribute up to 65 percent in the local tourism budget. The total budget of the programme for the period 2014-2020 is EUR 45.47 million. Milevski noted that cross-border cooperation programmes are also realized with Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo., reads the press release.