According to news from the Skopje newspaper Vecer, the Macedonian town of Strumica and Blagoevgrad will soon collaborate on joint tourist offers. In what is being termed “tourist potential of Southeastern Macedonia and Southwestern Bulgaria,” decisionmakers aim to keep the tourists for longer stays in this cross-border region, as well as endeavoring to development alternative tourism products.
For those unfamiliar, Strumica dates back to 6000–5000 BC: a Neolithic settlement (Stranata). And as for Blagoevgrad is where the ancient Thracian settlement called Scaptopara was located, and a city famous for centuries for its hot springs.
The project is being implemented by the NGO “PL Planetum”, in conjunction with the Blagoevgrad region in Bulgaria with the help of the EU for the formation of tourist nodes through the cooperation of the tourist companies from the two countries.
The plan is for proposals for these two cross-border regions to be placed on an internet platform so that guests arriving in Southwest Bulgaria can also get acquainted with the natural beauty of Southeastern Macedonia.
In Southeastern Macedonia, with the exception of Doyran, guests do not stay long. Tours to waterfalls and historic and cultural monuments have so far led to one-day walks, the Skopje newspaper said. The idea of this kind of joint participation comes from the pre-accession funds that they shared in the regions of Western Bulgaria and Eastern Macedonia and declared them a common space.