In June, 113,436 tourists stayed in Macedonia, generating 221,608 overnight stays. The number sounds good until you look at who is generating those stays - and who has stopped.

Of all registered tourists in June, 77.2 percent were foreigners and only 22.8 percent domestic. For overnight stays the ratio is similar: 70.8 percent foreign, 29.2 percent domestic. In practice, more than three out of every four tourists who visited the country in June came from abroad.

Among them one country stands out by a distance. Turkey sent 24,570 tourists - nearly three times more than Serbia, which is second with 8,522. Germany follows with 4,396 and Bulgaria with 3,207. Guests from Turkey alone make up more than a fifth of all tourists in the country that month.

The half-year tells the real story

Behind a solid June sits a weaker picture for the whole half-year. Between January and June the total number of tourists fell by 0.5 percent compared with the same period last year. The drop comes from the domestic market - domestic tourists are down 3.1 percent, while foreign arrivals show a slight rise of 0.3 percent.

For overnight stays the statistics are even less favourable: 1.5 percent fewer in total, with domestic tourists recording 3.3 percent fewer nights and foreign visitors 0.7 percent.

The meaning of those numbers is straightforward. The foreigner who comes here keeps the season above water, while the domestic guest is slowly disappearing from their own country. The reason somebody does not holiday in their own country is usually not a lack of desire - it is the price list. When three nights on Lake Ohrid cost the same as a week next door, the choice makes itself.

Dependence on a single market is the other side of the same coin. Turkey brings in more than a fifth of all guests. That is excellent while it lasts. The question no official report asks is what happens to the season if that figure halves next year - for a reason that has nothing to do with Macedonia.

July and August will show whether the first half-year's deficit gets made up. But the structure will not change in two months.