Better performance
As the traditional tourist season has almost closed and fewer holiday comers are expected during the next months at the Albanian shores and at the Albanian mainland, the first statistics on the tourist frequentation of the country during this summer have begun to appear. They speak roughly of nearly 2 million visitors having frequented tourist resorts throughout Albania from January to August 2009. The local press believes tourist frequentation for the current year will break national records. Gazeta Libertas, (12.09.2009), speaks of an increase of 42 % in tourist numbers. Gazeta Tema, (12.098.2009), also speaks of increased numbers of visitors, but of less spending. Shqip, (16.09.2009), also speaks of over 2 million visitors.
Continuing trends
Though weather prognostics foresee globally warm weather in the country till the month of November, and continued possibilities to spend time over the Albanian coast will exist (see former Tirana Times issues), the tourist frequentation has now rapidly decelerated and the slowing trend is expected to continue.
And as summer and holiday-time are almost over, Albania may progressively lose one of its best assets: holiday attractiveness, sunny skies and some of Europe’s yet most virgin beach-lands.
In these conditions, it is of primary importance that the country promotes other sorts of frequentations than holiday-going. Sportive and cultural tourism are two of them.
Sportive tourism
The supporters go where the teams go
In this respect, the last qualifying match opposing the former week in the main stadium of Tirana the Albanian national football team and the Danish national football team, is the most recent case offered by the actuality for analysis.
A bunch of Danish supporters flew over to Albania to assist the match. Their numbers could have been larger. Two factors seem to have discouraged them to come. At first, the sportive stakes were not very high. The national football team of Albania ranked among the lowest of the group, though it bettered its performance over the last matches and notably in the match that opposed them to the Danish team. On the other hand, it seems that Albania is not enjoying a very positive opinion in western countries (and perhaps in eastern countries as well).
Better sportive competitiveness and better sportive ranking would certainly help draw more attention and sympathy to Albania. They would also help to multiply contest occasions and improve attractiveness of sportive events. Better sportive results and rankings would help improve the drive of the supporters follow their national teams in sportive contests taking place in Albania.
On the other hand, the global image of the country and its people need to be improved through all contacts with the western and eastern world. Membership in NATO seems to have worked positively on the image of Albania, but there is yet much to be done to improve infrastructures, services and the quality of life in Albania. The quality of life of the Albanians themselves is not only important to the people that live in Albania, but is also of utmost importance for the image of the country in the world.
The cold shower incident
While the national football team gave a better than expected performance on the football field and left the stadium with a very sportive match and a 1-1 equality score, as they left the country, the Danish footballers spoke of a “cold shower” in the symbolic sense and in the literal one. Due to lack of hot water, the Danish players and the referees could not take a shower. Some went to the hotel without having taken a shower and some tried the cold water that was running out of the taps. The Albanian and Danish media gave large accounts of the incident in their supports. Panorama, (11.09.2009), informed also of other problems having made negative impressions on the players, referees, supporters and Danish media, like the presence of children and unauthorized people that crowded over the football field, as well as the burst of a pipe used for watering the field which spilled too much water on the field just before the match began. This is supposed to have made the terrain more impracticable. Shqip, (11.09.2009), quotes Danish daily Ekstrabladet with the words: “In the pipes of the “Qemal Stafa” stadium that provided water for the showers of the Danish national team hot water was lacking. In Tirana, the Danish national team tasted, (and not only in the figurative meaning, referring to the disillusive score), a cold shower”. The Albanian Football Federation may be fined for the incident (see Tirana Times, current issue).
Scottish discommendation
More than a month before, the Scottish Football Association is reported to have discommended supporters from going to Albania in order to support the Scottish football team of Motherwell in their UEFA football contest against Flamurtari, the football team of the city of Vlor뮠The city of Vlor묠lodged at a same-name bay in the south-western coast, is seen in Albania as one of the best-ranking cities after the capital, Tirana and has done much to improve life quality and image. But in general, Albania does not have a very good press. This incident is only one of the numerous that reveal the negative opinion attached to the country’s name. The incident is reported to have taken media attention in Albania and abroad.
Appeal for better sportive facilities
Taking occasion on the “cold water” incident of the former week in Albania’s only international stadium, the Albanian media appeal for better sportive facilities. Tirana counts two stadiums, out of which “Qemal Stafa” is the one with higher capacity and in better condition. The capital of Albania, has also a sport’s palace for indoor basketball, volleyball and handball competitions, which is also used for cultural activities. All sportive complexes are old, only slightly renovated and do not stand international comparison. The situation is worse in all sportive complexes out of Tirana. The major cities have all a stadium and a football team, but the capacities of the stadiums are limited and their condition near to vestiginous.
