The Continuous Development Of The Tourism Industry: A Comparison Of The Tourism Development Between Kosovo And North Macedonia

The purpose of this article is to provide a theoretical explanation for the continuous development of the tourism industry, following this with a comparison of the tourism development between the two Balkan states, namely Kosovo and Macedonia. this research is important to convey the development trends of tourism in different countries, also the countries and tourist destinations. In this study, a comparative method was used to distinguish Tourism Development Statistics in Kosovo and Macedonia. The data are provided by the state statistical office, Eurostat (online). The practical part of this study shows the total number of tourists in Kosovo and Macedonia for the period 2010-2018. Kosovo and Macedonia are two states of the Balkan Peninsula that have developed the tourism industry, due to the fact that their natural wealth, national, cultural, social values and so on. They are attractive factors for tourists in general, both domestic and foreign. Numbers of tourist in Kosovo in the period 2010 was 79,045 and in 2018 was 228,254, whereas numbers of tourist in Macedonia in the period 2010 was 586, 241 and in 2018 was 1,126,935. The development of rural tourism in these countries enables the development of livestock. There is a higher number of cattle and dairy cows in Kosovo than in Macedonia. Whereas in Macedonia there are more pigs, especially sheep and goats. Mountainous natural resources have made the forest area a considerable part of the surface in the Kosovo and Macedonia. Comparing 2012 and 2017 we can notice that there is not much difference in figures, there has been a significant increase in mountainous area. From the findings of this study, we can say that Kosovo and Macedonia, as explained in the empirical analysis section, have sufficient potential to develop rural and mountain tourism.