Cast yourself forward to 2030. It’s only 20 years or so away. Tourists are fed up of Greece. Croatian arrogance has annoyed too many people. Montenegro, for a while quite fashionable amongst certain types of tourist, now just has too many Russians. Albania is the most popular tourist destination in Southern Europe. Its not little old me saying this, it’s the respected ‘Tomorrow’s Tourism’ report by Dr Ian Yeoman, who is said to be the only futurologist specialising in tourism trends. His report makes interesting reading, but when looked at generally makes a good deal of sense. Albania has the coastline, low cost of living, mountains and proximity to European markets that are the ingredients of a successful destination. He also highlights the second-home tourist as a key driver for such success.
I speak to a great many people involved or interested in property overseas. It is one of those British obsessions. Questions I often hear, now that Bulgaria is full of Brits, is ‘What do you think, is it worth investing in Albania? Should I buy property there?’ I say that if you can find the right place, if you have the right contacts and, most importantly if you feel you can trust a legal system that is at best weak and corrupt, then go right ahead. But that is quite a few ‘ifs’. You can be sure that the same conversation is happening in Austria and Germany.
Whatever I say, the truth is of course that you, as Albanians, are going to see an increasing number of tourists every year. Some of them will become temporary residents, like in France or Spain. I think that Albanians will show themselves to be great hosts. I certainly hope so. It may well be that as the years go on and awareness grows that it is really quite important to keep crime under control (I tell foreigners that Albania is the safest country I have traveled in, including my own) and develop courts which can be trusted, Albania will become richer and more pleasant not only for foreign visitors but also locals.
It may be a long way off, but you can have a rich and bright future.
So lets look forward to 2030 and a well-run popular destination with all the wealth and good renown that will come with it.
Or……the country could go another way. Your own little Albanian oligarchs, (we could call them minigarchs)criminals most of them- like their Russian colleagues, will buy up or steal the best stretches of coastline for themselves. Sazan Island is a casino run for the benefit of sleazy politicians and their unpleasant cohorts. The Southern
Coast is concreted over with kilometers of rubbish hotels, and now all of Ksamil’s Islands have received the ‘improvements’ that only one had suffered in 2008 (have you seen that!? – Almost worse than what has happened to Petrela Castle). The Ionian Sea, once the cleanest stretch of the Mediterranean is a sterile polluted mess in which it is dangerous to swim and fish are no longer seen.
With the politicians you have now, let’s be honest, which is the most likely outcome? I will close by saying this. Professor Yeoman also believes that there one of the most exciting developments by 2030 will be a golf course on the moon.
