Responsible Travel

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL 

Macedonia Experience is completely committed to becoming a more sustainable organization with a strong focus on social and environmental responsibility.

We actively recognize our role in local communities of Macedonia and respect their cultures. Our trips are carefully developed to meet our environmental and social standards whilst offering clients the opportunity to make genuine connections with those places and communities.

We only work with local suppliers with whom we share our philosophy of support for the local communities (hiring local guides, accommodation at locally owned establishments, enforcing the purchase of locally produced goods and services), integrate positive environmental practices into our activities, in order to minimize the impact on the environment and wildlife in the areas of Macedonia where we operate.

Responsible travel policy aims

Macedonia Experience is an independent, Macedonia based tour operator. Our aim is to offer tailored, guided, small group culture and adventure tours for those who wish to discover Macedonia and the genuine Western Balkans. During our tours in the rural areas we mostly stay at small, family-run boutique hotels, guest houses and villas, and use local restaurants which source only local ingredients. In addition, all our guides and providers we cooperate are considered more as friends rather than ‘business partners’.

We also combine the Republic of Macedonia with the neighboring Macedonia regions in its neighboring countries, in order to underline the things in common and the unique features of each area visited. We consider this an important contribution to the travel experience in the Macedonia region and better understanding of the turbulent history of this part of the world.

Real encounters with nature, people, culture and cuisine in Macedonia and the Western Balkans

Our extensive knowledge of the Macedonia region enables us to offer authentic itineraries, at the same time providing a balance between each country’s well-known ‘must-sees’ and ‘off-the-beaten-track’ attractions. Macedonia Experience provides a real insight into the countries you are visiting – culture, history, landscapes and nature – and provides the opportunity for genuine interaction with the locals.

Respect for local people, their culture, traditions, religions and environment are essential to our philosophy, and we work hard to ensure that our guests have a positive impact on the places and people visited.

How we operate:

Guided trips

Please note that all group sizes for most of our guided tours are between 2 and maximum of 12 persons.

Contribution to local economies:

Operations & Administration

Macedonia Experience holds tour operating license in the Republic of Macedonia as branch office of Magelan Travel Service Skopje. Our local suppliers, as well our entire ecosystem is run only by local residents.

Macedonia Experience enforces fair and ethical business practice. In the neighboring countries, as well as the other countries of the Balkans, we don’t operate on our own, but support the local economies by strictly using the services of licensed local partner DMCs.

Our local guides are trained and licensed (locally). We always aim to recruit (support) guides from the specific areas of operation, as our region of the world provides very few or no job opportunities.

Accommodation

On our trips around the countryside we use accommodations (small hotels / villas / home-stays) owned and managed by locals.

Food & Local Products

The local cuisine is an integral part of real understanding and enjoyment of the Macedonia region. By facilitating usage of products and services of local origin, Macedonia Experience ensures the local producers realize how valuable their products are, in terms of keeping the traditions alive, which on one side ensures a maintained landscape, and on the other side forms solid basis for sustainable tourism development in the region.

Transport

For transport we use local licensed transportation companies who operate vehicles with low fuel emissions. Depending of the activity and area covered, we aim to reduce the mileage and the fuel consumption.

Marketing materials

We don’t use printed promotion materials. The promotion of the company is done through our website and different social media and travel platforms. The design works for our website are done in-house.

Environmental responsibility

Most of our tours include national parks and other protected areas. These areas feature unique environments and rich ecological values, which require corresponding attitude from visitors.

Examples:

• Lake Prespa, the highest tectonic lake of the Balkans, features abundance of endemic flora and fauna. In this unique area we offer rural discovery trips. These tours are guided by locals passionate about the Prespa region
• Our natural tours in different areas from the Macedonia region are guided by local wildlife protection activists
• We avoid single-use plastics and encourage our guests to use re-fillable water bottles, since tap water is drinkable almost everywhere in the region
• Wherever possible, instead of taking packed lunch, most of our adventure tours are designed in that way that we have meals on-site, where we involve local communities to prepare the meals
• In order to avoid extra transfer mileage, we cooperate with transport providers, who are closest to the starting or pick up point of our tours
• We include public transport in our tours where applicable

Social responsibility

While including as many local residents on our tours as possible, we hope to build a bridge between the visitors and the locals, so that we create a better understanding of daily life challenges in Macedonia. Even though most of the time there is the language barrier, both sides enjoy the direct interaction.

Examples:

• We cooperate with village communities in the rural areas of Macedonia (mostly the Western regions of Shar Planina, Mavrovo, Makedonski Brod and Debarca), which noticed that providing an insight to their daily life up in the mountains is a special experience for guests. In return, this interest in their lifestyle and the generated additional income contributes for these people to preserve their way of life in these areas, by producing traditional products and maintaining the landscape.
• We encourage our guests to buy locally produced products, eg. Home made Rakija (spirit), honey products, artisan wines, wood crafts, etc.
• Some of our tours do have a strong focus on the life of indigenous communities of Macedonia, which have unique culture and traditions
• Providing pre-trip information on Macedonia in general–and current–day issues topics during the trip

Complaints, suggestions and comments relating to this policy should be emailed to us. We value and appreciate your contribution. Thank you!