The Ministry of Economy has already proposed to the Parliament amendments to the Law on Trade, which allow work on Sundays and holidays of all retailers and wholesalers in tourist places, determined by the Law on Tourism, said the Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi during today's visit to the Ohrid-Struga region.

Bekteshi during the tour of the Ohrid Bazaar, where he met with businessmen, said that he expects in two weeks at most these legal changes to be voted and enter into force with the start of the tourist season.

"The amendments to the Law on Trade in the part of" Sunday non-working day "are in parliamentary procedure, they give the opportunity to all traders in tourist places to be able to work on Sundays and holidays throughout the year. "These changes will further boost the economic activity in the country, especially in the tourist places," said Minister Bekteshi, emphasizing that the changes were adopted through a joint dialogue in an inclusive process with all stakeholders, and workers in shops that will work on Sunday will receive a daily wage. "higher by 100 percent, and the rest in the activities defined by the Law on Labor Relations will receive per diems higher by 50%," said the Minister.

"Taking into account the data we have from the State Statistical Office for growth of the number of tourists in the first quarter, and the expectations for the number of tourists in accordance with already made reservations for foreign tourists who will visit Northern Macedonia this summer season, especially Ohrid and Struga, we expect these legal changes to contribute to an even more successful season. "The Ministry of Economy and the Government will continue to create measures to encourage domestic tourism in order to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists in the country," Bekteshi said.

As part of the measures that will be implemented this year to support domestic tourism, the Minister listed the vouchers for vacation in domestic tourist facilities, for workers with low wages.

"The Supplementary Budget envisages 15 million denars to continue with the measure for tourism vouchers for low-income workers, according to the funds provided, the projections are that vouchers will be provided for 1.500 to 2.000 families," he added.