40 Percent More Air Passengers, 6.9 Percent More Tourists: Two Numbers That Are Not the Same

According to the World Bank's latest „Tourism Watch” report, Macedonia recorded 40 percent year-on-year growth in air arrivals in the first quarter of 2026. That places the country among the best-performing low and middle-income economies in the Europe and Central Asia region.

Behind it come Moldova with 21 percent growth and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 20 percent. Montenegro, Azerbaijan and Albania, by contrast, recorded a fall in the number of passengers arriving by air.

The two numbers are not the same

Here it is worth drawing a distinction that often gets lost in press releases. Growth in air arrivals is 40 percent. Growth in tourist arrivals over the same period is 6.9 percent.

That is not a contradiction - they are two different indicators. More people are arriving by plane, but the total number of guests is rising far more modestly. Part of the new air traffic is people who previously came another way: by bus, by car, through neighbouring airports. That is a genuine success for the airports and for connectivity, but it is not automatically 40 percent more tourists in the hotels.

Everyone reads it the way that suits them

In Ilinden, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski cited the report alongside economic figures: the Macedonian economy is growing 3.5 percent in real terms, while its largest trading partner, the European Union, is growing around 1.4 percent and the eurozone around 1.25 percent. He claims that in two years nominal GDP has risen by around 4.65 billion dollars, against 4.5 billion over six years of the previous government.

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski stressed that subsidies for new airline routes have improved connections with European destinations, and that Ohrid airport handled over 3,000 passengers in a single day - a serious figure for an airport of that size.

„The World Bank report is additional motivation for more work and dedication. The success of air traffic in Macedonia is recognised and confirmed through concrete figures,” Nikoloski said.

What is worth checking in six months

Airline subsidies are a budget expense. They bring passengers - the report shows that. But the question that is rarely asked is how much one additional passenger costs, and how much of that passenger stays in the country.

Mickoski expects tourism growth to show up in the second-quarter GDP figures. That is when the comparison becomes possible: how much of the 40 percent turned into overnight stays, spending and revenue, and how much stayed a statistic on the runway.