TOURIST VALORIZATION OF SKOPJE FORTRESS KALE

m-r Emilija Todorovic, PhD Student

University “Goce Delcev”, Stip, Republic of North Macedonia,
[email protected]

Abstract
The city of Skopje is a destination that annually visits almost 1/3 of the total number of tourists coming to Macedonia. It
has a rich cultural heritage that attracts a growing number of tourists on a daily basis. In the interest of planning the
sustainable development of the cultural tourism in the city, it is of great importance that the tourist valorization of the
cultural heritage, assessing their value from the aspect of tourism. The subject of valorization should be all the tangible
and intangible cultural assets of the city in order to hierarchically align them based on their value, which will give
directions in strategic planning for the development of cultural tourism. This will determine which of them are leading
in the overall cultural tourism product of the city, and in which they have yet to invest. Since the tourist valorization of
the entire cultural heritage of the city of Skopje is a complex and long-lasting process, in this work I will make the
valorization of one of the most important cultural sights of the city, the fortress Kale. Although there are many
qualitative and quantitative measures for the implementation of tourist valorization, in this paper I will apply the
Hilary du Cros method, which due to its complexity and the numerous indicators through which the valorization of
cultural goods is examined, is considered one of the most reliable methods most reliable. The method will be modified
in terms of specific and indicators and adapted to the subject of tourist valorization.

Keywords: valorization, fortness Kale, cultural heritage, sustainable development

INTRODUCTION

Skopje Fortress Kale is a historical core, ie the origin of today's Skopje and is located in the
center of the city, on the left bank of the river Vardar. Current scientific evidence indicates that
Skopsko Kale was inhabited in prehistoric times, more precisely at the crossing between IV and III
century BC, and during archaeological excavations in 1953 and 1967, material evidence of the late
Neolithic settlement was discovered. The Kale Fortress, as archaeological discoveries show, was re-
inhabited sometime in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, and the remains of this settlement have been
discovered about 6-7 meters below present-day levels. The fortress was once again occupied in the
X century, when the medieval Byzantine-Slavic city of Skopje was formed during the time of Tsar
Samoil, which was "one of the most important strategic points - fortress-cities" within the then vast
Macedonian Samoil Empire. With the latest archaeological excavations that began in 2007, 13,400
objects from different periods have been discovered, of which 4527 are coins. All items are
preserved and divided into three collections. The construction of the prehistoric museum and the
Ottoman-era museum have been completed, and the medieval-era museum is under construction.
Valorization is an important stage in the tourism development planning process because it
aims to objectively assess the tourist resources in the destination. The existence of resources and
their attractiveness is very important to explore from the aspect of tourism, but also from the
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economic, sociological and cultural aspect. However, tourist valorization should be performed by
experts from different areas, it should not be forget the tourists, that is, their subjective perception
and the assessment of the attractiveness of the resources. It is a fact that only consumers know what
it is that will satisfy their needs.1 Tourist valorization is one of the most important and complex
issues in tourism theory and practice. It refers to a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the
values of tourism resources and is the most important stage in the planning of spatial development
of tourism.2 The resources that will be considered as the most valuable can expect maximum
demand and deserve priority in planning the development of tourism in the destination. When it
comes to the value of tourist resources, the usable and market value should be distinguished. The
use value is related to the attractive motifs, is to some of the attributes (recreational, aesthetic,
famous, curiosity) that can meet the tourist need. However, the actual value of the tourist resource
itself is not sufficient, but certain activities (investments in infrastructure, promotion, etc.) are
needed in order to use or acquire the attractive effect of the resource and to form a tourist offer,
such as market-based tourist value of resources. So, in order for the attractive properties of the
motive to gain market value, it is necessary to conduct tourist valorization. It should not be
forgotten that tourist valorization should be based on the principles of sustainable development,
which is to preserve the resources from excessive exploitation, which will enable future generations
to use and enrich them. Tourist valorization is part of the country's tourist policy, which means that
it should be represented in the development strategy of tourism, as well as for the purposes of
tourism policy. This means that valorization requires the coordination and coordination of policy
holders at all levels.
The goals of tourist valorization that are set up for the successful implementation of the
process, and they refer to:3
- Assessment of the volume of attendance;
- Estimation of the tourist value of all individual objects in some space or the whole space;
- Measures for protection of the area where the tourism activity develops;
- Developing marketing plans and strategies that evaluate areas will be placed on the market.
Different authors define and use different criteria for tourist valorization and it is therefore
very difficult to establish unique criteria for all valorization objects that will yield the same results.
It can also be concluded that the elements that are treated as criteria for valorization are numerous
and different, so their grouping and gradation are performed. The basic elements of tourist
valorization are: the attractiveness of the resources, the tourist-geographical position and the
1
Angelevska-Najdeska, K, Significance and influence of management in tourism and hospitality, Faculty of Tourism
and Hospitality, Centar for Scientific Research, Ohrid, 2005
2
Jovičić, D., Увод у туризмологију, Београд, 2013
3
Vulas, D., Turistička valorizacija kulturnih manifestacija, Sveučilište u Splitu,Ekonomski fakultet, Split
athttps://repozitorij.efst.unist.hr/islandora/object/efst%3A807/datastream/PDF/view, 2016
2
distance from the nearest developed tourist region. In addition to these, the traffic infrastructure,
accommodation and catering facilities, the quality of additional services in the destination,
authenticity, etc. are of great importance 4. In the absence of a universal methodology for tourist
valorization, researchers can use data from experts' attitudes, tourists, or combine indicators to
evaluate the value of an object being evaluated. Methods can be classified into two categories,
depending on the number of elements being evaluated: partial (partial) and complete. Particles are
based on a set of factors: cultural - geographic factors, tourism suprastructure components or
infrastructure factors. The complete methods include evaluation of all components, although in
practice it is almost impossible to conduct a full evaluation of all the factors that are important for
the process of tourist valorization. In hospitality practice, combined quantitative and qualitative and
comparative methods are usually applied by authors, depending on the valuation object, in order to
obtain an objective and clear picture of the current value of the resource subject to valorization.
If we analyze all quantitative and qualitative methods, we can conclude that they are based
on the following elements: accessibility, tourist equipment and tourist services, ambience,
specificity of the resource, significance of the resource and artistic value. The same elements are
used in the method provided by the World Tourism Organization, whereby the criteria for
valorization can be divided into internal and external. Internal criteria include: urbanization,
infrastructure, equipment and tourist services, and external ones are: accessibility, proximity to
broadcasting centers, specificity of tourist resources and their significance. 5 In any planning of the
sustainable development of cultural tourism to a particular destination, the tourist valorization of
cultural goods, is the assessment of their value in terms of tourism, is of particular importance. In
the process of evaluating cultural resources, all cultural goods in the destination subject to
valorization should be covered. The most exploited method is the Hilary du Cros method, which
will be explained in more detail in the Materials section and methods.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The subject of this research is the Kale Fortress in Skopje, which represents a historical core,
ie the origin of present-day Skopje and an important cultural and historical heritage in the country.
The purpose of the research is to make tourist valorization of the fortress, in order to have a more
successful placement in the domestic and international tourist market.
Steps and activities undertaken for the preparation of the paper: defining the subject and
purpose of the research, setting up a research plan, field research and cabinet research, analyzing the

4
Jovičić, D., Ivanović, V., Tourism and Sustainable Development in Europe: present status and perspective, 18 Biennial
International Congress, Opatija, 2016
5
Košić, K., ppt. Turistička valorizacija- pojam, cilj, elementi, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu, Prirodno-matematički
fakultet, Departman za Geografiju, Turizam i Hotelijerstvo, Novi Sad at http://www.dgt.uns.ac.rs/download/otv2.ppt
3
data collected and writing the paper. For the purposes of this paper, valorization is carried out
according to the model of Hilary du Cros, which is quite complex due to the large number of
indicators through which the valorization of cultural goods is examined. But despite its complexity,
this model is considered to be very adequate and credible in carrying out tourist valorization of
cultural goods. In this process of tourist valorization, assessment and grading of indicators,
especially for the tourism sector and the sector for management of cultural goods, is made, as well
as assessment of the size of the cultural good to receive visitors. The tourist sector is comprised of
market attractiveness of cultural goods and factors that are important in creating a tourism product.
Subindicators are rated with points from 0 to 5, and individual indicators may have a lower scores.
After that, the points of the indicators are collected and the level of attractiveness is determined:
little attractive, medium-sized or highly attractive for tourism development. The sector of
management of cultural goods is assessed through the cultural value and the size of the cultural
good and can have a small cultural value, average value and high value. On the basis of the analysis,
a matrix for market attractiveness (attractiveness) is set, with 9 cells marked with M (and, l) (and, l
= 1, 2, 3), and for each cultural good it is determined in which cell it belongs.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Indicators that make up the tourism sector relate to: the market value of the cultural good
(ambient, national symbol, evocative place, attractive for special needs, complementarity with other
products in the destination and an indicator of whether the destination is associated with culture and
factors of importance creation of tourism product (accessibility, transportation from broadcasting
sites, proximity to other cultural attractions, catering facilities, parking, marked roads and
availability of information).
Table 1. Evaluation of the value of the indicators from the tourism sector

Ambient 3
National symbol 3
An evocative place 3
Attractive for special needs 3
It is complementary with other tourism products at the destination 5
The destination associates with culture 4
Accessibility 5
Transport from the emittimg place to the cultural goos 4
Close to other cultural attraction 5
Catering and acoommodation facilities 4
Parking, marketroads, availability of information 3
Total 42

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 Market attractiveness (attractiveness) of the cultural good for the tourism sector is
determined after evaluating the scores of all indicators: low attractiveness 0-20, medium attraction
21-40 and high attractiveness 41-60. The relatively high ratings of the indicators that define the
product as culturally good from a tourist point of view, primarily due to the pleasant ambience of
the place, the fact that one can meet many "witnesses" from different periods of Macedonia's
history, potentials to create quality and innovative tourism product, proximity to other cultural and
natural attractions, as well as the existence of tourist and road infrastructure. According to the sum
of the scores of all the individual indicators, Skopje Fortress Kale has high attractiveness.
The indicators that make up the cultural asset management sector are composed of: factors
that determine the cultural significance of the object (aesthetic and architectural value, historical
value, educational value, social value, scientific research value and rarity of the cultural good) and
the factors that make it express the robustness of the facility (state of repair, cultural management
plan, monitoring and maintenance, investment potential, adverse impact on increased number of
visitors).
Table 2. Indicators from the cultural good management sector
Aesthetic and architectural value 2
Historical value 2
Educational value 1
Social value 1
Scientific-reserch value 2
Rarely a cultural asset 2
A state of reparation 1
Management plan 0
Monitoring and maintenance 0
Potential for investment 5
Ability to adversely affect a large number of visitors 5

Total 21

The cultural relevance and robustness of the cultural well-being is determined after the
scores of all indicators are collected: low attractiveness 0-20, medium attraction 21-40, and high
attractiveness 41-60. The analysis showed that the Kale Fortress has great cultural, historical,
educational, social and scientific value, and the low ratings were primarily due to lack of
management and renewal plan, as well as regular monitoring and maintenance. After the evaluation
of the sub-indicators, a conclusion can be reached on the indicators from the cultural goods
management sector. The sum of the scores of all individual indicators is 21, which means that
Skopje Fortress Kale has a medium value for this sector.
41 – 60 М (1, 1) М (1, 2) М (1, 3)

21 – 40 М (2, 1) М (2, 2) М (2, 3)

Robustness

5
 0 – 20 М (3, 1) М (3, 2) М (3, 3)

0 – 20 21 – 40 41 – 60

Market attractive

Based on the analysis, we set the market attractiveness matrix where M (i, l) (u, l = 1,2,3).

According to the analysis, it can be concluded that Skopje Fortress Kale as a cultural good is
classified in category M (2, 3), which means medium value of indicators of cultural value /
robustness and high market attractiveness. This means that it is necessary to take certain measures
and activities to eliminate the deficiencies and take full advantage of the high market attractiveness
of the product.
The tourist valorization is done according to the Hilary du Cros method and it can be
concluded that the Kale fortress has a great attraction for the visitors, mainly due to the authenticity
of the buildings, rich history and beautiful ambience. Combining this with the potential it offers for
organizing different events and events will surely create an authentic and recognizable tourist
product that will be a magnet for tourists. However, a tourist product cannot be considered just an
object or a place. Extra services also greatly influence its quality, primarily focusing on catering
facilities and services, infrastructure, hygiene and more. Therefore, it is necessary to undertake
measures for strategic planning of continuous refurbishment and maintenance of facilities, ie
establishment of regular monitoring and quality control. This will identify deficiencies in a timely
manner and take action to eliminate them. Only with a quality tourism product being promoted the
right way can the country compete in the market and become a recognizable place to visit. We must
also not forget the need for comprehensive research on the tourist market, which will provide
information on the needs and motives of potential tourists, their attitudes and opinions, thus
facilitating the process of creating tourist products that will be recognizable, authentic and attractive
and will meet the needs and requirements of tourists.

On the other hand, the analysis of the indicators of the sector of management of the cultural
good showed average value, which is mainly due to the lack of management strategy and

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maintenance of the fortress Kale, as well as plans for its repair, investment projects and sources of
their financing. which will ensure continuity and sound place management policy.

CONCLUTION

Research suggests that the Kale fortress is a cultural, historical and archaeological good that
has the potential to become a successful tourist product that will attract visitors. This is primarily
due to several factors: it possesses tremendous historical wealth which according to research is
evidence that the fortress existed 5 centuries before Christ; Kale fortress is an archaeological site
that has found more than 13,000 objects that have witnessed life here in the past; the fortress is a
cultural treasure of the nations that have lived in it for centuries; provides a beautiful view of the
city and the river Vardar; offers opportunities to organize different cultural events and events; is
located in the center of the capital, which means proximity to other tourist attractions and catering
facilities; has the opportunity for complete infrastructure editing; there is interest in developing
fortress repair and landscaping projects, etc.
The question arises as to why, despite the full potential of the Kale fortress, it has not yet
been used. During the field research the impression was that the fortress was left alone, and there
were a number of shortcomings: complete neglect of the interior of the fortress; poor hygienic
conditions, lack of waste baskets, benches, etc .; lack of information boards, signposts, boards on
the premises where the visitors will be informed about the matter; lack of a professional to guide
visitors and provide information on objects, history, archaeological finds, etc .; lack of innovative
and creative services to attract visitors and so on.
The untapped potential and the disadvantages stem from the fact that there is no proper
institution to manage this cultural-historical good. The institutionalization of the fortress will
certainly create the condition for creating a quality strategy for long-term development. This will
take measures for the strategic planning of continuous refurbishment and maintenance of facilities,
ie the establishment of regular monitoring and quality control.
The tourist valorisation made in this paper is certainly only a small attempt to move the
activities related to the creation and placement of the Kale fortress as a tourist product, since
valorisation itself is a serious and extensive project involving experts from various fields that are
relevant to evaluate the product in all its aspects. It is also desirable to perform a SWOT analysis,
which will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the product, opportunities and threats. Based on
the results, a long-term development strategy will be developed according to the principles of
marketing conception of business. This will mean creating specific strategies that will cover both

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the product and its promotion and market placement. Of course, this includes market research and
its segmentation, competition research and demand in order to approach the needs of the end user.

All this requires the vertical and horizontal coordination of all tourism policy makers in the
country, in order to be equally involved in the creation and placement of the Kale fortress on the
world tourist market. All these activities should be in accordance with the principles of sustainable
development, in order to preserve the historical, artistic, architectural, ethnological, scientific,
cultural and other values of the Kale fortress.

REFERENCES

1. Angelevska-Najdeska, K, Significance and influence of management in tourism and hospitality,

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Centar for Scientific Research, Ohrid, 2005
2. Jovičić, D., Увод у туризмологију, Београд, 2013
3. Vulas, D., Turistička valorizacija kulturnih manifestacija, Sveučilište u Splitu, Ekonomski
fakultet, Split at
https://repozitorij.efst.unist.hr/islandora/object/efst%3A807/datastream/PDF/view, 2016
4. Jovičić, D., Ivanović,V., Tourism and Sustainable Development in Europe: present status and
perspective, 18 Biennial International Congress, Opatija, 2016
5. Košić, K. (n.d), Turistička valorizacija- pojam, cilj, elementi, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu,
Prirodno-matematički fakultet, Departman za Geografiju, Turizam i Hotelijerstvo, Novi Sad at
http://www.dgt.uns.ac.rs/download/ otv2.ppt