Skopje, 12 November 2025 (MIA) – Construction of a high-speed rail from Skopje to Thessaloniki is in the works, the government at yesterday’s session adopted a decision on urbanistic solution of the Stobi site, new wineries are being opened in the Tikves region. We also aim at facilitating the construction of new hotels and attracting tourists that transit through Corridor 1, officially E-75, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski told Wednesday’s panel as part of the conference “E-75 – A foundation for the development of creative tourism and its sustainability." 

“The country needs hotels, good ones. At the moment, it is complicated to build. It takes too long to pass urban plans in protected areas. I’m talking about Ohrid, Bitola’s old town, Kratovo, in the Skopje Old Bazaar, etc. There, it is practically impossible to build. We cannot talk about tourism without having a five-star hotel in the main tourist center. I want to open this issue for the public. On one hand, it’s a good thing to have protection, but if we want to develop tourism in terms of building hotels, not buildings, we need to facilitate the procedure for constructing hotels and attract investors. The same goes applies along Corridor 10,” said Nikoloski.

The Ministry together with the World Bank, he added, is in the process of procuring intelligent transport systems. “Highways are becoming smart highways, they are offering more than a safe drive. Macedonia will be the first in the region to have a smart highway from the border with Serbia to the border with Greece,” the Deputy PM announced. 

It means that it will be possible to monitor weather conditions on the road, traffic density, speed, if there are accidents, electric chargers, internet, etc, in real time.

Nikoloski noted that tourism is one of the main priorities of the incumbent government. “It’s no coincidence that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was established last year,”. “There is great potential to develop tourism,” he concluded. 

Nikoloski announced that the government at a session yesterday passed a decision on the financing of a complete development of Stobi site. “It is in a good state now, but it will become more attractive with the planned investments,” he said. 

As regards wine tourism, the minister said the government fully supports it as well as the opening of small wineries.

“What we need to do now is to motivate the tourists transiting via Macedonia to stay longer,” he said. 

Speaking at the panel, Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov said E-75 connects the north with the south, towns with small communities, people with their dreams. But, do we really see the potential hiding along this highway, he wondered.

“I’m convinced that every kilometre of this road carries an opportunity for a new cooperation, a new partnership and a new development. Every small town, every local craft, every restaurant or café that proudly tells its story are part of the larger picture, a tourist picture we can tell outside the borders of our country. Its our authenticity, our strengths and our chance. Imagine a tourist stopping in some of these places, tasting a local speciality or an original local wine, talking to the local craftsman and continuing their journey in good mood. This is the real power of E-75 – to connect people and to open fresh opportunities,” said Ljutkov.

If we turn this potential into a successful story, the tourism minister said, we need to think outside the box – how to create synergy between transport and tourism.

“Only when traveling becomes an experience, we can talk about real creative and sustainable tourism. In this context, a workshop was held yesterday on creative tourism, which produced ideas about the ways in which households in rural and urban areas can enrich their tourist offer. This is our goal – to create a corridor where infrastructure and tourist offers are part of the same story, because creative tourism doesn’t only involve a visit to a museum or archaeological site. It involves participation, interaction, sharing of culture and tradition,” Ljutkov said. 

The event, he added, aims at sharing ideas, initiating partnerships to find a way for E-75 to open concrete opportunities for local development, new businesses, cultural and gastronomic exchange allowing every municipality, every town and every local community along the highway to be able to recognize its uniqueness and to turn it into a tourist value to connect local producers, hospitality establishments, craftsmen and institutions into a joint offer that will represent our country in a new and authentic way.

“Transport and tourism are two sides of the same coin because transport can carry the economy, but tourism offers the soul of a place. When these two forces join hands, it can create a sustainable energy that moves the region forward,” concluded Ljutkov.  

The Macedonian pavilion and its concept for EXPO 2027 Belgrade was presented at the second panel at today’s conference. Aleksandar Velinovski, the Macedonian Pavilion’s commissioner, presented plans for the national stand in Belgrade saying calls will be issued in 2026 inviting Macedonian companies to be represented at the international event. 

Photo: MIA