Bad news for tourism this year is no novelty. Just as foreseen, the economic crisis is negatively affecting the industry of tourism too. The consequences are also being felt in Albania which is emerging as one of the new attractions of the eastern Mediterranean. There is no more doubt. This will be a year of fewer tourists. However, news has been worse than expected for Albania – at least, so far. Compared to the same period last year, the number of tourists, Albanian and foreigners, in the area of Durr쳠has decreased by four times. Local experts say that if this situation continues bankruptcy is certain. And this is happening right after radical improvements in infrastructure linking Durr쳠to Kosovo. One of the defensives of the Durr쳭Kuk쳠road, practically a corridor linking Albania and Kosovo, was exactly the Kosovar ‘invasion’ of Albania’s shores. The road that has by now cost almost a million euros has shortened the distances between Albania and Kosovo to the extreme. Yet, expectations of a rise in the number of tourists from Kosovo have not been met. It is interesting to see that the number of Kosovars that mainly visit Albania for holidays did increase after the inauguration ceremony of the Durr쳭Kuk쳠road, just not to the levels expected.
The enigma seems to be resolved by the fact that Durr쳠might no longer be an attractive destination for tourists, including those from Kosovo. And the reason for that is not to be found with the economic crisis, but in the simple fact that the tourist operators in Durr쳠have thus far failed to offer the basic standards of services. It is no secret and we can concur that a foreigner visiting Albania sees two countries: an Albania of beautiful landscapes, rich and of great potential for all kinds of tourism, and an Albania of chaos of no rule or order.
The shores of Durr쳠continue to see the erection of huge constructions and intensive environmental pollution. Nobody knows exactly the number of apartments that wait to be leased or sold to Kosovars. Either option is unlikely to happen. It is the lack of urban planning, the absence of the rule of law and state control over the territory that is leading the tourism industry, in Durr쳠at least, to bankruptcy. Those that are currently exploring Albania, local and foreigners alike, Kosovars and Macedonians included, are heading south.
The Albanian Riviera – the unique shores of the south of the country, along the Ionian Sea – is the gemstone of Albanian tourism. You might have seen it on television, on European channels too. If there is one instance of full compliance between an ad and reality, that is the case of the Albanian Riviera – a chain of villages, of complete landscapes of sea, green and mountains all along the Ionian.
The government has been generous in funding the promotion of tourism or the potential for it, especially in the south of the country. The government also invested in the construction of a road that links this chain of villages in the south. It seems the government’s attention is turning south. Late though it is, better than never. Twenty years after the fall of the communist regime, the government still has no plan of development of its most important tourist potential. The lack of a proper study for the development of this area and controversial property titles are holding the development of this area hostage, though this area could easily be the engine of Albania’s economy.
