Ski touring — which differs from skiing — is a special experience of outdoor activities one can have in Kosovo during the winter season.

Several hundreds of meters of walking up the snow-covered mountains, carrying a pair of skis wrapped in skin. The goal is to reach the highest mountain summit and from there, to experience the beauty of unspoiled nature and then, to ski downwards.

Edis Krusha started this business activity inspired by the beauty of Sharr Mountains. Seeing how every day the environment, in Brezovica, which is a well-known skiing center, was being harmed, together with a group…

Tour guides play a key role in the tourism industry: they are the creators of a tourist’s experiences. Besides passion and knowledge, being a great tour guide is not easy and it takes time to hone that particular skill set.

For Arsim Rexhepi, founder of Balkan Destination, professional tour guides are the lifeblood of his business and of the tourism industry in Kosovo. “All tour operators in Kosovo should provide highly professional services, and work based on the industry rules,” he says. Arsim says that creating memorable experiences is the way to make tourists come back again.

Tour guides in…

Every city has its own “open secrets” waiting for you to discover them. An old house with a unique architecture, a cafeteria where the art aficionados get together, a restaurant serving dishes you cannot savor anywhere else, or a cultural-spiritual place containing stories never heard before.

Places where you can eat well, night life, strolls around the city, cultural and religious buildings, and alleys full of history. Every city is a destination awaiting to be discovered. The best and easiest way to uncover the soul of a city is through the knowledge of its people.

One of the newest occupations…

Digitalization is no longer a buzzword or an aspired vision for many small or medium sized businesses. A few months back, establishing an online presence, though highly recommended, was not necessarily a top priority for many such businesses. Post COVID-19 outbreak, moving operations online, enhancing the online presence and the process of digitalization have become a core part of their business strategies. This is necessary if businesses are to adapt to the new reality and survive its challenges. This change is here to stay.

To support our partners through such a monumental shift, the Promoting Private Sector Employment project partnered…

Many young people used the period of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage. While education institutions closed down and job opportunities shrank, learning new skills online to fill a specific gap in the market — affordable marketing services for businesses — became the thing for the motivated.

Seeking to contribute to the community during such difficult times, United Pixels Academy (UPA), a training provider mainly for graphic design, motion design and application development, moved fully into online teaching mode and designed a special program to create a pool of young creative designers who can then provide affordable services…

A close estimate of the two-month lockdown on the hotel and accommodation sector may have an impact of: some 13 million EUR loss in circulation, and due to the passivity of the hotel and accommodation sector, the further impact on the related sectors may exceed 10 million EUR.

Due to measures taken from mid-March 2020 to restrict and stop movements and business activities in Kosovo, and the world, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sectors like tourism, travel, accommodation and gastronomy bore a heavy brunt. …

The fast growth of tourism in Kosovo follows the global trends in this sector, especially in the last ten years. There is a constant flow of new tourism products introduced, an improved tourism offer in destinations within the country and in general, services are modernized and diversified. Tourism is therefore turning into one of the sectors that drive economic and social development in the country.

According to the World Tourism Organization, in 2018 the European Destinations received over 700 million tourists and it is estimated that throughout the stay, each spend on average USD 800. In the same year, according…

The driving force of the food processing industry is the development of products, on continuous basis, ranging from the modification of an already existing product, to developing a brand new one, and even how products are presented in the market. The aim is satisfying customer demand.

Adiat Hajdari, owner of Ananas Impex, is fully aware of the role that customer demand plays in the success of his business as a producer of ground red pepper, vegetable condiments and recently, soups. The idea for soups as a new product was a result of the collaboration with Swisscontact’s Senior Expert Corps (SEC). Based on the direct feedback by local suppliers on the types of soups consumers were looking for, Adiat knew that the increasing demand for better soup quality and different tastes was a game-changing factor.

Through the Coaching for Growth (C4G) program, delivered by CEED Kosovo with…