Planning tourism development in regional frames

Tourism has emerged as important factor for regional development by influencing major economic and social impacts at regional and local levels, particularly in the areas where tourism activities take place. It contributes to integrating less developed regions or gives them equal access to the fruits of growth. This research investigates tourism contribution to regional development in Macedonia. In particular, the paper explores and compares eight planning regions from tourism prospective, thus pointing to the importance of applying the concept of tourism planning. For this purpose, it reports on analyses based on stylized facts obtained from secondary data spreading over a sample period from 2003-2013. The outcomes point to the fact that the South-West region is the leading statistical region in Macedonia when referring tourism and regional development issues. The paper urges the need for identifying effective framework for mitigating modest results and creating sound economic and tourism policies. Furthermore, one of the major challenges consists of setting up mechanisms to improve competitiveness and quality of tourism at regional and local levels, as well as to ensure sustainable and balanced tourism development