AmCham Macedonia 3/2019 | Page 14

COVER STORY Developing Rural Agro- Tourism in Prespa Ana Labor, Owner, Spirit of Prespa R ural tourism is trending throughout the world and our country has a lot to offer. Every region in North Macedonia has unique stories, warm hospitality, and amazing landscapes. One of those regions is the sleeping beauty Prespa. Prespa is surrounded by 2 national parks, Galichica and Pelister, sharing Prespa Lake with Greece and Albania, and hosts the only island in our country, Golem Grad. It is time for Prespa to wake up and offer her potential to the guests. From mountain biking, hiking, climbing and trekking to off road skiing and snowboarding, birdwatching, visiting old churches, swimming and paragliding - you name it, we will tell you that you can do it here. 14 EMERGING MACEDONIA Spirit of Prespa My love for Prespa and the desire for promoting the region led to the creation of the brand Spirit of Prespa. People often ask, what is Spirit of Prespa? My answer is: it’s just an apple orchard, similar to any of the other 2,000 orchards in Prespa. But, Spirit of Prespa is not an ordinary orchard, Spirit of Prespa is the first open orchard in the country. It has been in our family for over 60 years and we are fifth generation owners. The orchard is quite large (over 50,000 m2), allowing our guests to observe apple and cherry production, taste traditional food, and buy products from our farm shop. The food is prepared by the Rural Women of Prespa Association and the products in our farm shop are homemade