TIRANA, July 4 – Tourism associations from Albania. Macedonia. Montenegro and Kosovo have joined in a regional organization aimed at coordinating their joint efforts to promote tourism, which is one of the key sectors for the economies of these countries.
Sadik Malaj, the head of the Albanian Tour Operators, tells Deutsche Welle in the local Albanian service that he sees regional cooperation as a key to success for all four neighboring countries operating as a ‘tourist unity” and a ‘complementary market’ offering all kinds of tourism, including coastal, mountain and cultural heritage.
According to Malaj, some 60,000 one-day tourists enter Albania from Montenegro each summer and more than 50,000 others from the Greek island of Corfu.
Albanian tourism experts see the improvement of infrastructure in specific sectors such as mountain tourism as a key factor contributing to the development of this sector.
Calling on local and central governments to cooperate, local tour operators say the road infrastructure in most mountain tourist attractions is in bad condition– posing a barrier for foreign tourists.
Zenel Shalari, an economy professor at the University of Tirana, says the diversity of the Balkan region with its dynamism, cultures, and hospitality makes it unique for tourists.
Albania’s placing as the top travel destination in 2011 by Lonely Planet Guide and sixth global destination by CNN experts is expected to bring positive effects this year. Albanian tourism has grown at a significant pace over the last few years– contributing over US$ 2.4 billion in 2009 to the Albanian economy, with expectations to grow by 4% in 2011, according to statistics from the World Travel and Tourism Council. Over 200,000 Albanians are involved in tourism businesses and this number is also expected to grow. New Bank of Albania data published this week show tourism revenues in the first quarter of 2011 climbed to 175 million Euros, up from 161 million Euros in the first quarter of 2010– registering a 9.2 percent increase.
Opening of the Cross Border Trail “Peaks of the Balkans”
The development of the cross border hiking trail “Peaks of the Balkans,” which connects mountainous areas of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, is the central part of a cross border mountain tourism development project, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft f
