Is Albania losing the prospect of tourism?

Unstable development on the coast, where high construction rates are not being followed by infrastructure, environmental management such as waste or sewage, sewers, energy, etc., are at risk of becoming a boomerang for the sector, which actually has the potential to become the main engine of economic growth.

The “good start is half the work” is not going to tourism this year.

The first months were quite optimistic, with the entrances of foreigners growing by about 40% in January-May. The duration of the season all year round was a wish of many years, which eventually came true.

Albania is attracting, not only with the beach in the hot summer months, but also with culture, culinary, history, heritage from antiquity, nature, etc.

Albania became <x0hit” on social networks for cheap prices, host people, security, numerous tourist alternatives, foods. Foreign media were especially seduced by Ksamili, labeled “

The demand for accommodation units was twice as high in the report last year, prompting many locals to issue their homes on a daily basis, both in the capital and in other areas from South to North.

Given the high demand for accommodation units and increased entrances, expectations were very high for this summer season. Businesses, especially Southers, rushed to raise prices.

The accommodation units were expensive up to 90%. Admittedly, it was not just a demand that raised prices. The cost of maintaining activity has increased.

The lack of employees increased wages in the South, to such levels of 1,000 euros a month for service workers. Hotels, although paying taxes, were forced to afford their own investments for sewage plants.

The fall of the euro was another factor that negatively affected the revenues of hotel facilities, which tried to compensate for the price.

In a country that as the main competitive advantage has cheap prices, it is normal that their growth would curb tourism.

This happened very quickly as the holiday drop complaints began. In June, increased rates of foreign citizens' entry were halved in comparison to the first 5 months.

Significant impact on the demand also provided the removal of citizens from Kosovo, due to visa removal, reduction of the local population, and the removal of potential Albanian holidaymakers as a result of high prices.

However, in these cases, “enters into force” self - disorder mechanisms and prices began to drop again, but the damage to the image was done.

While the market regulates demand-offs, balancing prices, the country has deeper problems, which are not resolved with a pencil crash.

For many years, infrastructure remains problematic, as investments focused solely on the southern South of the country, leaving the centre prey to a traffic centre, which in summer becomes unadministrational.

Public transportation remains disorganized and tourists find it difficult to navigate because of the lack of a map on Google Map.

For example, to go from Tirana to Vlora, the map tells you that you must first go to Rinas and take the bus to Vlora! A recent European Commission report ranks Albania last in Europe with only 41.6% of its excellent coastal waters.

This percentage is much lower than the first country, Croatia, with over 99% and Italy, which is among the 26 countries ranked, with over 90%. The same ranking is for internal waters, where Albania is the last of 27 countries, with 33% of its excellent waters.

Unlike other countries, which, according to the report, have made constant efforts to reduce pollution and improve water quality, our government left this burden to businesses on its own this year, just as municipalities left hotel facilities under the obligation to remove garbage, even though it regularly received their cleaning tax.

Unstable development on the coast, where high construction rates are not being pursued by infrastructure, environmental management such as waste or sewage, sewers, energy, etc., are at risk of becoming a boomerang for the sector, which actually has the potential to become the main engine of economic growth.