AmCham Macedonia 3/2019 | Page 20

COVER STORY how we closed the circle of outdoor sports, nightly open air parties and museum tours for everyone during the weekend of When in Krushevo, which was visited by more than 2,000 guests. Progress Fast forward to the next year, and the great potential of the Outdoor Adventure Festival When in Krushevo was recognized and supported by the AECOM project Move your Finger and the Swiss embassy project Increasing Market Employability (IME). New activities were developed, such as kayaking and stand up paddle boarding, yoga, Cross Fit etc. We improved the cultural segment with local food tasting, and we had the opportunity to massively improve the open air parties. We had the pleasure to host Grammy awarded reggae group The Inner Circle from Jamaica. The event was a major success with visitor numbers that were more than double compared to the first year. Winter Edition In February 2019, the gates of Krushevo opened for the first ever Winter Outdoor festival — When in Krushevo: Winter is here! The organization teamed up with local guesthouse owners and provided significantly discounted prices for accommodation during the event. A winter hiking route was organized in addition to the food tasting and indoor parties and the table was set for more winter festivals. Scaling Up In June 2019 was the third edition of our outdoor festival. We are excited and happy to have more and more satisfied visitors. The locals are willingly providing support and are firm believers in our mission to set Krushevo as the capital of outdoor sports in North Macedonia. During our preparations, one of the locals who owns horses came to us with a proposal to offer the guests horseback riding tours, an activity that did not exist in Krushevo till then. We gave him our full support by promoting the tour as part of our variety of activities. It turned out to be one of the most popular experience that was fully booked during the two days of the festival. Throughout 20 EMERGING MACEDONIA the following summer, the horse owner prepared marketing materials about his tours and spread them around the town and local hotels and guesthouses. His results were astonishing and he was fully booked during the whole summer. That made me and the rest the team filled with pride and honor, knowing that we have set the base for adventure tourism in Krushevo. Next Steps Our organizations is not going to remain focused only on the winter and summer editions of the festival. We work hard to improve them for sure, but our main goal is to develop into a larger community that will provide tours and activities in Krushevo and its region year round. Opening an office in the town and procuring our own equipment for outdoor sports is our next challenge. We believe that many organizations will recognize our mission in turning Krushevo into an outdoor capital of the country. Until then, book your ticket for our next event, and see you in Krushevo! 