SocioBrains ISSN 2367-5721 (online), JOURNAL HOMEPAGE: WWW.SOCIOBRAINS.COM Publisher: SMART IDEAS – WISE DECISIONS, Ltd., ,

ISSUE 78, FEBRUARY 2021

POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH

Abstract: This paper makes a comprehensive analysis of the natural and cultural potential of the eastern planning region in the Republic of , tourism infrastructure and tourism, with an emphasis on the village of Lesnovo where the Lesnovo Monastery is located as one of the most impressive cultural tourist potentials in the region. A SWOT analysis was made for the village of Lesnovo, which will help determine tourism development opportunities and create an appropriate strategy. Valorization of the Lesnovo Monastery was also performed in order to assess the value of the building from the aspect of tourism. The purpose of the paper is to determine the existing potential for the development of tourism in the eastern region, perception of the current state of tourism resources, and opportunities for undertaking appropriate investment activities in the direction of tourism development.

Author information:

Emilija Todorovic Keywords: PhD Student eastern region, Lesnovo, Lesnovo Teacher in Secondary school for catering and tourism, monastery [email protected]  Republic of North Macedonia

Introduction ourism is dynamic phenomenon that has been continuously developing in the past decades, resulting in an increase in the number of tourists and overnight stays T worldwide. According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourist arrivals in 2018 internationally reached the figure of 1,400 million. Tourism consumption was $ 1.7 trillion, and the tourism industry accounts for 10% of global gross domestic product. Of the continents globally, Europe has the primary role with about 51% share in tourism, both in sending and receiving tourists. [1] The Republic of North Macedonia, as in the past, has seen a constant increase in the number of tourists and overnight stays. Thus, in 2019, the number of tourists is 1,184,963, 427,370 or 36% domestic tourists, and 757,593 or 63% foreign tourists. The number of overnight stays in 2019 is 3,262,398, of which 1,684,627 or about 52% are for domestic tourists, and 1,577,771 or about 48% for foreign tourists. If we make a comparison with the number of tourists in 2010, which was 58,242, it can be concluded that it increased by 102%. The number of overnight stays in the analysed period increased by 61.5%. [2] The Republic of North Macedonia is divided into eight planning regions: Skopje, Northeast, East, Southeast, Vardar, Pelagonija, Southwest, and Polog. If we look at the statistical tourist indicators by regions (Chart 1), the number of tourists in the Vardar region has increased continuously, so that in 2010, that number was 10,572, and in 2019, it rose at 25,136, which is about 138% more. In the Eastern region, the number of tourists in 2010 was 13,054, and in 2019 32,077 or about 146% more. A total of 234,665 tourists visited the southwestern region in 2010, and the same number in 2019 was 445,846, which is 90% more. A total of 84,856 tourists visited the southeastern region in 2010, and in 2019 167,451, which is about 97% more. The Pelagonija region in 2010 had 69,712 visitors, and in 2019, the number rose to 72,833 or only 4.5% more. The Polog region in 2010 had POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 376

31,828 visitors and in 2019 41,994 or about 32% more. A total of 3,098 tourists visited the Northeast region in 2010, and in 2019, 10,444 or about 237% more. In the Skopje region in 2010, there were a total of 138,456 tourists, and in 2019 a total of 389,182 or about 181% more. From the same chart, it can be seen that the largest number of tourists who visited RNM, a total of 1,002,479 or 84.6% stayed in the Southwest, Southeast, and Skopje region, and the remaining 182,484 or 15.4% in the other five regions. [2] In order to increase the number of tourists in all regions and balanced tourism development, it is necessary to make maximum use of the natural and cultural potential and create authentic tourism products that will follow the world tourism trends and will be competitive in the market.

Chart 1. Number of tourists by regions in the Republic of North Macedonia in the period from 2010 to 2019

Number of tourists by regions in the Republic of North Macedonia in the period from 2010 to 2019 500000 450000 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Vardarian East Region Southwest Southeast Pelagonian Polog Northeast Skopje

Materials and Methods This paper makes a comprehensive analysis of the East-planning region, natural and cultural potential for tourism development, tourism infrastructure, and tourism, emphasizing the village of Lesnovo, where the Lesnovo Monastery is located as one of the most impressive cultural tourist potentials in the region. A SWOT analysis was made for the village of Lesnovo, which will help create an appropriate strategy to determine ways to turn opportunities into strengths of the destination, timely eliminate threats, and take measures to turn weaknesses into strengths of the destination. The main attractiveness in the Eastern region and the village of Lesnovo is the Lesnovo Monastery, and for that purpose, tourist valorization has been performed. Tourism valorization is undoubtedly one of the most critical topics in tourism theories. This expert methodological procedure is an assessment of the tourist attractiveness of all phenomena, facilities, and spaces that have, among others, the ability to be attractive, interesting for tourists, and to meet their needs. A prerequisite for valorization is that the building should have attractiveness, uniqueness, landmark, specific aesthetic value, and other characteristics that will attract tourists. Tourism valorization is the basis for determining which resource is acceptable for tourists, what kind of tourism should be developed in the region, what standards should be applied in the arrangement, to arrange the necessary investments hierarchically. In a word, to determine the direction in which the state and local government should direct the tourism policy, as well as the plans that the tourism entities should implement. [3] [4] In the professional literature, there are several authors who do the valorization based on predefined criteria. [5] According POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 377

to a qualitative or quantitative methodology, valorization can be done, such as valorization according to tourist survey questionnaires, interviews with tourism workers, observation methods, descriptive methods of the destination itself, or other research methods. [6] The tourist valorization of the Lesnovo Monastery was performed with the method of Hilary du Cros, which is quite complicated due to the large number of indicators through which the valorization of cultural goods is examined. However, despite its complexity, this model is considered adequate and credible when performing tourist valorization of cultural goods. It assesses and rates indicators, especially for the tourism sector and the sector for management of cultural goods, as well as evaluates the size of the cultural property to receive visitors. The tourism sector is composed of market attractiveness of cultural goods and essential factors in creating the tourism product. Subindicators are rated on a scale of 0 to 5, and individual indicators may have a lower score range. After that, the indicators' points are added, and the level of attractiveness is determined: a little attractive, moderately attractive, or highly attractive for the development of tourism. The cultural property management sector is assessed through cultural value and the size of the cultural good and can have low cultural value, medium value, and high value. [7] Field and cabinet research was conducted for labour needs. The observation method will collect information on the current state of the research subject. Secondary information will be obtained through a comprehensive analysis of relevant literature, yearbooks, statistical data, newsletters, and the like.

Results and Analysis Potential for tourism of the Eastern region The eastern region covers the catchment area of the river and covers an area of 3,537 km² or 14.2% of the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. The region's eastern borders share the border with the Republic of Bulgaria, the North border with the Northeast planning region, to the west with the Vardar planning region, and the south with the Southeast planning region. This region is composed of 11 municipalities. (Berovo, Vinica, Delchevo, Zrnovci, Karbinci, Kocani, Makedonska Kamenica, Pehchevo, Probistip, Cheshinovo-Obleshevo, and Stip), and it includes 217 settlements, of which 209 rural and 8 urban settlements (Stip, Probistip, Kocani, Vinica, Makedonska Kamenica, Delchevo, Pehchevo, and Berovo). The eastern region's characteristic is that it has almost four times lower population growth than the population growth in the country. According to the population census from 2002, in these region live 181,858 inhabitants. [8] Although the East planning region abounds in numerous and diverse natural values still, these values and phenomena, with the exception of a few, are not of national or broader significance in terms of rarity and uniqueness. The most characteristic natural values here are: the mountains: Osogovski Mountains with the peaks Carev Vrv and Ruen, Plachkovica with the peak Lisec, Vlaina mountain, Maleshevski Mountains, Ograzden, Golak with Obozna, mountain Konechka and some other smaller mountains, which offer excellent opportunities for many sports and recreational activities; the sports and recreation center Ponikva; the tourist settlement Suvi Laki on the mountain Ograzden; Lesnovo Crater, located in the western part of the Osogovo Mountains and is one of the best-preserved fossil volcanic craters in the Republic of North Macedonia and the Balkan Peninsula; Kamnik canyon on Koshevska river; the lakes: Kalimanci, Berovo Lake and Lake Gratche, which unlike the other smaller lakes here, have the most tremendous tourist potential; thermo-mineral springs and baths: Kezhovica or Stipska Banja is located about 2km from the centre of Stip near the settlement Novo Selo; Banja in the village of Banje (Kochanska Banja) is located 7 km west of Kocani; Istibanja is characterized by a great wealth of geothermal waters. All listed sites have very high quality geothermal water, and in addition, have excellent location and accessibility. [9] The Eastern region has a rich and diverse cultural-historical and archaeological heritage and values. We will emphasize the following sites: archaeological sites: the ancient city of Bargala, near the village. Karbinci near Stip, the locality Crkvishte near the town. Morodvis near Kocani; the POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 378

archaeological site Vinicko Kale, known for its terracotta icons; the medieval Isar fortress in Stip; Grncarica - Krupishte, the oldest Neolithic settlement in Macedonia; and many other; churches and monasteries: St. Archangel in Vinica and Joakim Osogovski v. Jakimovo, St. Bogorodica - Novo Selo, St. Nikola - Stip, Lesnovski monastery, St. Archangel Michael - Berovo, Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God - Berovo, St. George - Gorni Kozjak, St. Bogorodica - Balaklija in Delchevo, St. Basil the Great - Ponikva, St. Nikola - Stip. St. George and St. Panteleimon - Kocani, Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God - Berovo, St. Archangel Michael - Dramche are sacred objects that stand out as attractions with the highest potential; museums: The city museum in Stip, The Museum in Berovo; The Museum in Delchevo; Terracotta Vinica Museum; The Museum of the activists of VMRO from Stip and Stip region, Novo Selo, Stip; Memorial House of the Razlovech Uprising in Razlovci - Delchevo; Ethno house and city museum in Kocani, Ethno house in the village. Morodvis - Zrnovci; manifestations and events: The custom "Chetrse" in Stip; Makfest - Stip; Pastrmajlijada - Stip; Pijanec - Maleshevo wedding - Delchevo; Ethno festival in Berovo; Kochani rice days - Kochani; Gocevi Days; Istibanjsko healthy live - Vinica; Festival of wind orchestras - Pehchevo and others. [9] The movement of the number of tourists and overnight stays in the Easter region in the period from 2010 to 2019 is shown in Chart 2.

Chart 2. Number of tourists in the Eastern region in the period from 2010 to 2019

Number of tourists in the Eastern region in the period from 2010 to 2019 40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Total Domestic Foreign

A total of 13,054 tourists visited the East Planning Region in 2010, and in 2019, 32077, which is about 146% more. Regarding domestic tourists, their number in 2010 was 8,463, and in 2019 17,657, which is about 108% more. The number of foreign tourists increased from 4,591 in 2010 to 14,420 in 2019, which is about 214% more. The figures show a massive increase in the number of tourists in the region, although the difference in the number of domestic and foreign tourists is evident. In the analysed period, the total number of domestic tourists was 159,227, and the number of foreign tourists was 91,935, which is about 74% more. [2] Although the number of foreign tourists has been growing steadily over the last five years, it is still significantly lower than the number of domestic tourists. Creating a diverse and authentic tourist offer, achieving a competitive price, appropriate promotion, etc., are just some of the activities that tourism policymakers should apply to maintain a positive trend and increase the number of tourists and, of course, attract domestic tourists. Chart 3 presents the number of overnight stays realized by domestic and foreign tourists in the Eastern Region in the period from 2010 to 2019. From it can be seen that there is a trend of a continuous increase in the analysed period, so that in 2010 in this region were realized a total of 25,687 overnight stays, and in 2019 that number was 62878, which is about 145% more. In the analysed period from 2010-2019, out of a total of 498,466 overnight stays, domestic tourists realized POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 379

291,827, and foreign tourists 206,439, i.e., about 41% more. [2] The extension of the visit of tourists, in any case, is related to the attractiveness, diversity, and quality of the tourist offer in the region, as well as the readiness of all stakeholders to take an active part in the creation and implementation of tourist services.

Chart 3. The number of realized overnight stays in the Eastern region in the period from 2010 to 2019

The number of realized overnight stays in the Eastern region in the period from 2010 to 2019 80000

60000

40000

20000

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Total Domestic Foreign

SWOT analysis of the village of Lesnovo The village Lesnovo comes from the word "les", which means forest because this area was densely forested in the past. It is one of the unique villages on Macedonia's territory, especially in terms of its location, undoubtedly the town of Lesnovo. It is a mountain village, located on the right side of the Zletovska River, at an altitude of 890 meters. It is located in the northeastern part of the country. It is the only settlement that lies in a clearly defined and preserved fossil volcanic crater and among the oldest villages that have not changed its position for centuries. The Lesnovo crater is a monument of nature and geological rarity. The small Lesnovska River flows through the middle part of the crater, which intersects the crater's western frame. It is well connected with a narrow asphalt road to the town of Probistip in the west and the village of in the south. It is 120 km away from the capital Skopje. In terms of climate, the village is characterized by cool summers and mild winters. The town of Lesnovo is one of the oldest villages in Macedonia that has never changed its position over the centuries. For centuries, the population made millstones from quality rocks, which due to their quality, were delivered all over the Balkans. The most significant natural attractiveness of the village of Lesnovo is the Lesnovo crater. The Lesnovo Cup or crater located in the western part of the Osogovo Mountains provides an unusual experience. Sitting on an avalanche rock of a volcanic nature that was active 20-30 million years ago and where the direction of lava flow can still be seen is a rare natural treasure, a treasure that attracts visitors. In the northeast-southwest direction, the middle part of the crater flows the small Lesnovska River, which intersects the western side of the crater. This river's valley is fascinating, steep, and with many holes (caves) on the sides at the intersection. Most of these caves are not natural but are human- made from the time when the locals made millstones and sold them everywhere in the Balkans. Besides, visitors can enjoy pleasant walks and fresh air around the village and the pleasant climate contributes to the place to be a natural air bath that has a very beneficial effect on human health. Due to its uniqueness, the Lesnovo crater has been declared a natural monument and is on the list of geological rarities of the Institute for Protection of Natural Rarities. A procedure has also been initiated to declare Lesnovo the first geopark in Macedonia under UNESCO's protection. Projects

POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 380

should be made in that direction of infrastructural character for the purpose of the region's economic growth, thus creating conditions for tourism development. [10] The most significant cultural and historical attractiveness of the village of Lesnovo is the Lesnovo Monastery, where the main church is dedicated to "St. Archangel Michael ", which, like the monastery, was restored to the foundations of an old church dating back to the 11th century. In the monastery complex is chapel "St. John the Baptist ", St. John the Theologian"and the chapel"St. Naum Ohridski". Also included are the cave hermitage churches: "Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God" - located in the area of Kolar region and "St. Ilija," which is located on the mountaintop, just above the Lesnovo Monastery. In the village of Lesnovo there is an ethno museum in whose building there is a workshop where art colonies and accommodation rooms with a capacity of 12 beds are held. Fairs, gatherings and celebrations are held in the village, and tourists can enjoy the gastronomic specialties in the restaurant "Ethno Lesnovo", Lesnovski Konak ", Ribnik" St. Spiridon, "and the inn" Meanche u Kampce, "which is located next to the entrance of the monastery complex. Constant internal and external analysis of the potential of the tourist place and its surroundings will be done with the so-called Situational analysis (SWOT) (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), which is a marketing-strategic element to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the destination, as well as opportunities and threats to its development. Particular benefit from SWOT analysis is seen in the help to capitalize the phenomena that are marked as a chance and not to leave them to competitors; recognize signals of problems that may arise; reorganizes the overall marketing effort of the tourism industry in terms of change and existing benefits; creates an appropriate marketing information system to improve management decisions; enhance the image of the product, i.e., the destination. [11]

Figure 1. SWOT analysis of the village of Kalista and the town of Lesnovo Strengths Weaknesses • Favorable geochartical position • Insufficient research in the field of tourism • Transport infrastructure • Lack of statistics on alternative forms of tourism • Favorable climate • Lack of strategy for development of monastery • Lesnovo crater as a monument of nature tourism in the country • Rich cultural and historical heritage • Lack of local development strategy • Good investment climate • Lack of road and tourist infrastructure • Free visa regime • Poor involvement of the local population in tourism • Competitive service prices development • Hospitable people • Lack of offers for alternative forms of tourism • Insufficient promotional activity of the holders of the tourism policy • Insufficient professional staff Opportunities Threats • New trends in tourism • Insufficient application of the concept of sustainable • Traditional Macedonian cuisine development • Potential for development of geo-tourism and • Unstable image of the country monastery tourism • Competition in the countries in the region • Attracting foreign investment • Migration village town • Enrichment of the tourist offer with various services • Insufficient interest of tourism policy makers • Stimulating the local population to provide food and • Slow progress of the country's economy accommodation services • Delay of the country's EU and NATO integration • Investing in tourist and road infrastructure process • State aid for development of alternative types of tourism

Tourist valorization of Lesnovo Monastery Lesnovo Monastery occupies an important place in the Macedonian church, national and cultural history. Since its foundation, the great Lesnovo Lavra, with its numerous chapels and Scythians, has become a nursery for many new lighthouses of the Orthodox Church, from the POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 381

Venerable Gavril Lesnovski to Bishop Gavril of . His body rests next to the monastery. According to the oldest biocharty of Saint Gavril Lesnovski, written by Stanislav Gramatik in 1330, The monastery dates back to the 11th century and was founded by St. Gavril Lesnovski dedicated it to Saint Archangel Michael. Numerous holy places have been erected around the monastery - smaller monasteries, chapels, hermitages, and hermitages, which were in the function of the famous transcriptional Lesnovo literary school. The historical-literary text "Clarifying Writing" written immediately after the extensive biocharty of St. Gabriel mentions four hermits in the monastery's vicinity. In one of them, which is dedicated to the holy prophet Elijah, according to the life and ministry of St. Gabriel, the Venerable spent 30 years of his ascetic life. Despot John Oliver rebuilt it in 1341. The fresco painting was completed in 1347. The is in deep carving from 1811-1814, the first work of the tribe of Petre Filipovski - Garkata. The tourist valorization of the monastery complex is the first step in determining or evaluating the product from the aspect of tourism, having in mind the above about the importance of the integrated product in tourism. In addition to assessing the tourism potential and value, valorization will provide a basis for taking future action to eliminate the weak sides of the product and utilizing the opportunities it offers, as well as determining the elements on which to intervene and invest. All this will help to create a short-term and long-term plan for future tourism development. The tourist valorization is made according to the method of Hilary du Cros, which is the most exploited method in the tourist valorization of cultural goods. The indicators that make up the tourism sector, according to the model of Hilary du Cros, refer to the market value of the cultural interest (ambiance, national symbol, evocative place, attractive for special needs, complementarity with other products in the destination and the indicator that indicates whether the destination is associated with culture and the factors influential in creating the tourist product (accessibility, transport from broadcasting places, proximity to other cultural attractions, catering facilities, parking, marked roads and availability of information). The market attractiveness of the cultural good for the tourism sector is determined after the grades are collected. The indicators that make up the cultural profitable management sector according to the model of Hilary du Cros are composed of: factors that determine the cultural significance of the building (aesthetic and architectural value, historical value, educational value, social value, scientific research value, and rarity of cultural good) and the factors that express the robustness of the building (state of reparation, cultural good management plan, monitoring and maintenance, investment potential, negative impact on the increased number of visitors). The cultural significance and robustness of the cultural good are determined after all indicators are collected: low attractiveness 0-20, medium attractiveness 21-40, and high attractiveness 41-60. [7]

Table 1. Assessment of the value of indicators from the tourism sector Ambient 4 National symbol 3 Evocative place 4 Attractive for special needs 3 It is complementary to the other tourist products of the destination 4 The destination is associated with culture 4 Accessibility 3 Transport from the broadcasting place 3 Proximity to other cultural attractions 3 Catering facilities 2 Parking, marked roads, availability of information 3 Total points 36

POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 382

After assessing the sub-indicators, a conclusion can be made about the market attractiveness of the cultural good for the tourism sector. The sum of the assessments of all individual indicators of the Lesnovo Monastery, in the opinion of the surveyed experts from different fields, shows average attractiveness. Table 2. Indicators from the cultural right management sector

Aesthetic and architectural value ` 2 Historical value 2 Educational value 1 Social value 2 Scientific research value 2 The rarity of cultural good 2 State of reparation 4 Cultural Property Management Plan 4 Monitoring and maintenance 4 Investment potential 3 Opportunity for negative impact on a large number of visitors 2 Total points 28

Once the sub-indicators have been assessed, a conclusion can be drawn on the indicators from the cultural property management sector. According to the sum of the assessments of all individual indicators, the Lesnovo Monastery has an average value.

Based on the analysis, we set a matrix for market attractiveness where M (i, j) (i, j = 1,2,3). Robustness 41 – 60 М (1, 1) М (1, 2) М (1, 3) 21 – 40 М (2, 1) М (2, 2) М (2, 3) 0 – 20 М (3, 1) М (3, 2) М (3, 3) 0 – 20 21 – 40 41 – 60 Market attractivness We can conclude that the Lesnovo Monastery as a cultural asset is included in the category M (2, 2), which means the average value of the indicators of cultural value/robustness and great market attractiveness.

Conclusion This paper makes a comprehensive analysis of the natural and cultural potential of the eastern planning region in the Republic of North Macedonia, tourism infrastructure and tourism, with an emphasis on the village of Lesnovo where the Lesnovo Monastery is located as one of the most impressive cultural tourist potentials in the region. Statistics show that there is a tendency of a continuous increase in the number of tourists and overnight stays in the Eastern region. In relation to the other RSM regions, it is in the 6th place and participates with only 2.7% in the total number of tourists who visited the country in 2019. These figures are an indication that it is necessary to set a strategy for regional tourism development that will result in short-term and long-term growth and investment plans that will involve all stakeholders. A SWOT analysis was made for the village of Lesnovo, which highlighted the strengths of the destination: favorable geochartical position, good road infrastructure, favorable climate, Lesnovo crater as a natural monument, rich cultural and historical heritage, good investment climate, etc. The destination's opportunities mainly refer to the potential for the development of geo-tourism and monastery tourism as alternative tourist forms. On the other hand, the following shortcomings are singled out insufficient research in the field of tourism, lack of local development strategy, weak involvement of the local population in tourism development, the insufficient promotional activity of POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EMILIJA TODOROVIC 376-384 PLANNING REGION IN REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA 383

tourism policymakers, etc. The analysis accurately detects the threats that need to be eliminated and turned into opportunities in a timely manner and the weaknesses that strategic plans and investment projects need to turn into the destination's strengths. As for the Lesnovo Monastery, based on the valorization, it can be concluded that the monastery has a medium attractiveness for visitors, which is primarily due to the lack of tourist infrastructure and the inability of visitors to receive adequate accommodation services. The attractiveness of the monastery stems from its rich history, frescoes, and authentic carving of the iconostasis. All this, complemented by the unique landscape in which it is located, completes a picture that is worth seeing. This paper is a small step to determine the existing potential for tourism development in the eastern region, to determine the current state of tourism resources and opportunities for undertaking appropriate investment activities in the direction of tourism development. It can certainly serve as a basis for creating an appropriate strategy for tourism development in the region and setting short-term and long-term development plans.

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