Albania, Balkans benefit from better infrastructure and peace

TIRANA, June 1 – Almost a decade without wars and an improving infrastructure have brought great profits to the Balkan area which is hoping to one day become a full member of NATO and the European Union.
The Balkan region is set to see increasing regional tourism. Albania’s tourism industry, with its fantastic beaches, will be boosted massively by growth in visitor numbers from land-locked Kosovo once the massive super-highway linking the Albanian coast to the mountains in Kosova’s northeast is complete.
Montenegro is preparing for increased tourism from Kosova, and is planning to open a consulate in the country in preparation. It will also receive increasing numbers of tourists from Serbia as relations between the two countries are normalized.
Tourism is not the only industry that will benefit from better internal links within the Balkan region. Exporting will also become more cost-effective and as such will grow in the next five years. Then there is the possibility of businesses expanding into neighboring countries. Not to mention the employment generated by the road-works themselves: over 3000 people, 3 quarters of them Albanians, are currently employed on the Albania-Kosova project, to grow to 4,500 as the project reaches peak operation.
Both Albania and Montenegro are tipped as hot destinations for overseas property investors. This increasing regional tourism will increase occupancy and rental yields on Montenegrin and Albanian property. But the increasing industrial links will shore-up economic growth in the future and give them yet more investment strength.
Albania’s economy is forecast to grow by 1 percent this year while Montenegro’s economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent.