Albania’s tourism industry is currently experiencing its busiest season, and Tirana Times looks at some of the economic trends seen so far this summer.
Tirana Times
TIRANA, July 28 – Albania’s tourism industry is currently experiencing its annual peak as hundreds of thousands of visitors enter the country to spend a few days at the beach and domestic tourists are staying closer to home due to higher prices outside Albania.
Albania experiences an increase in tourist numbers every summer, and this year is no exception. But the sheer numbers of non-resident Albanians and foreign tourists is setting some noteworthy trends for the Albanian tourism industry.
More Macedonian citizens
Neighboring land-locked Macedonia has become a growing number for tourists heading to Albania’s coast. While some have been coming here for years, many visit for the first time, seeking sun and sand – and service in their native Albanian – in the affordable Albanian coastline.
Another trend reported in the southern coast of Albania is that non-ethnic-Albanian Macedonians have been making their way to the Albanian beaches as well.
Lajm, an Albanian-language newspaper in Skopje says 200,000 visitors visited Albania from Macedonia in the last six months alone. Taking that in context, that’s 10 percent of Macedonia’s population.
Albanian customs officials at the Qafe Thana border crossing say that in July alone 100,000 Macedonian citizens crossed the border, mostly on vacation.
These are mostly ethnic Albanians many of whom actually are immigrants in Western Europe who spend a few days with family in Macedonia and then visit Albania too, Albanian media report.
Durres losing some Kosovars
Most tourists to Albania have realized for years that the country’s southern beaches are cleaner, prettier and less busy than the historically largest vacation spot, Durres Beach. What Durres had going for it was geography and wide sand beaches that thanks to bad infrastructure elsewhere could be accessed easier from Tirana and Kosovo. That’s no longer the case.
The Durres – Kukes highway has been both a blessing and a curse for Durres. It allows visitors from Kosovo easy access to Albania’s largest port, but it also makes it easier for them to reach Albania’s southern beaches. And this year, tourism officials and operators report a higher than usual number of Kosovo tourists in the country’s southern beaches.
That’s not to say Kosovars have abandoned their usual tourism hub at Durres Beach, for which they always save a special zest.
Another trend is happening there though; economy experts say the citizens of Kosovo are now making long-term plans in Durres, where they are buying more apartments instead of renting them for the tourism season as they have done for years.
Many apartments sit empty in Durres Beach throughout the year, and aggressive coastline construction in the traditional and older section of the beach could have contributed to the decline of the beach itself.
The mayor of Durres says the visitor numbers this year were smaller than expected. And there are fewer bookings than predicted. Part of this has to do with the global economic crisis which has kept many Albanian immigrants away from home this summer.
In Durres, many accommodation facilities have been vacant pending the visitors, while August is expected to be more favorable.
Efforts to bring more foreign tourists
While tourists that have some sort of tie with Albania – be it family or language-related keep on coming, efforts to introduce Albania to foreign tourists are also continuing with some mixed results.
Day visits to the Saranda and Butrint area from nearby cruise ships have continued with some success, but pinpointing foreign visitor numbers is difficult because official figures lump everyone together – visitors for business and pleasure.
Among other initiatives to be commended was that of USAID, which supported Albania in being one of six countries featured in a special supplement of the June edition of National Geographic Traveler Magazine. “The Western Balkans: Land of Discovery” showcases the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the region. The supplement was provided to tour operators and businesses at a reception held today in Tirana.
“Cut off from the rest of the world for 50 years, Albania is still largely unknown outside of Europe and has had difficulties overcoming negative stereotypes related to poverty, corruption, and crime and unlike its Balkan neighbors, Albania has had to address significant disadvantages, namely its poor infrastructure, unplanned urban development, and lack of investments,” said USAID/Albania Mission Director, Joseph C. Williams. “More must and can be done to preserve Albania’s cultural heritage, conserve natural resources, and protect precious archeological and historical monuments.”
The supplement accompanied the June 2010 English-language issue of National Geographic Traveler Magazine distributed to over 220,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Germany.
Copies of the publication are available through the National Tourism Agency, the Albanian Tourism Association and USAID’s Rritje Albania project for foreign tour operators and Albanian embassies and consulates to promote Albania and regional tour packages.
Tourism is recognized as an important sector of Albania’s economy, with the possibility of reaching small and medium enterprises in the more remote and poverty stricken areas of the country.
Infrastructure problems
Although things improve with each year that goes by, tourism infrastructure in Albania has yet to meet full European standards. A recent study by the World Economic Forum on tourism in 42 European countries placed Albania near the bottom, in 39th place, leaving behind only former Soviet states like Armenia and Moldova and neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina.
One of the biggest problems Albania faces is continues to remain a problem issue of property titles, which when it comes to developing tourism can make the country really unattractive, ranking Albania at the 126th place in the international level.
Nonetheless, Albania can overcome these pitfalls if it manages to offer genuine hospitality with affordable prices – and improve infrastructure over time.
