Interview for REL, Kumbaro: Albania aims for elite tourism with all the challenges
The Minister of Tourism and Environment in Albania, Mirela Kumbaro, says in an interview for Radio Free Europe that tourism has become an industry and has spread almost throughout the territory, and also throughout the year.
She expects the flow of foreign tourists to increase, while admitting that the country was not prepared to handle the tourism boom it experienced in the last two years.
He says the goal is elite tourism, but warns of good news for those looking for more public spaces on the coast.
As the main problems that require solutions to deal with the growing flow of tourism, Kumbaro mentions waste management and public transport.
Radio Free Europe: According to the report published by the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO), Albania is the second country in the world and the first in Europe that has had the greatest increase in tourism. How important is this indicator for the country?
Mirela Kumbaro: For the reputation of Albania's image in the world, but also for economic development, tourism is undoubtedly the most important sector of the economy. For two years we have started to talk not only about tourism as a sector of the economy, but as an industry.
This means that what we warned about eight years ago, that it would be the future of Albania and economic development, today has become tangible in the economy, but also for international organizations, which measure the development of the sector, such as is the World Tourism Organization.
In its barometer for the first 6 months, it has ranked Albania the second in the world for the increase in international tourist flow and the first in Europe, compared to the period before the [COVID-19] pandemic.
Albania has not only recovered, but has gone beyond all expectations. According to our forecasts, we would reach 10 million tourists in 2027 or 2030, but here we are, we caught [this figure] already in 2023.
This is thanks not to a boom that happened in one year, but thanks to a work that has been done since 2014, which we conceived as an "Urban Renaissance" program. It brought about psycho-aesthetic, psycho-architectural transformation and a new synergy in the relationship in investment and vision between the private and public sectors.
Two very important new phenomena, confirmed in the last two years, are: the expansion of tourism in the territory and throughout the year.
These make tourism sustainable, create a new map, make tourists see Albania not only for the coast, but for many previously undiscovered destinations.
Radio Free Europe: The same report ranks Albania as the country with the largest increase in tourism receipts in the world. What was the impact on the entire business chain in the tourism sector?
Mirela Kumbaro: This is one of the best things in the economy. Inflows into the economy from tourism have seen a huge increase.
In 2022, 2.8 billion euros of income from tourism; in 2023, 4.2 billion euros and, according to Bank of Albania sources, in the first 6 months [of this year] there were 500 million euros more than in the same period last year.
It is not enough to say what the number of visitor entries is, but what is important is how much income they bring.
Radio Free Europe: The strategy for tourism 2024-2030 foresees the division of the country into 6 tourist regions. What will this plan bring?
Mirela Lumbaro: We have a very big job to further formalize the Albanian economy in terms of tourism.
This is the reason that with the new strategy that we are proposing to the Government "Tourist Albania 2030" - which is expected to be approved in the coming weeks - we foresee interventions in the fiscal and information system, the reform of some of the agencies such as: the Albanian Investment Corporation, the Agency for Investments and Development, National Tourism Agency.
This is a soft-diplomacy, a good one for the nation and the Albanians wherever they are.
Radio Free Europe: In the presentation of the strategy, you stated that "for every 1 km of beach, there will be a minimum of 300 meters of public beach". How achievable will this promise be, since you have described it as a great challenge?
Mirela Kumbaro: In the Albanian tourist offer, the coast is one of the main points of this menu, but the experience of these years has taught us to manage this space better, to create a fairer relationship between the beach as a space and public good, that should be available to the public, but also maintain a balance in the interest of the private sector.
The new beach regulation takes into account this balance in view of stable, serious, long-term and consolidated investments in the hotel field.
We have a large influx of local and foreign vacationers, but we do not have the capacity in beds to respond to this influx.
Considering the coast as a good one, but also as an added value for that sector of the economy that has invested in hotels, in accommodation, we have judged that the beaches as spaces that can be managed by the private sector, are available to tourist businesses that they have hotels.
We will reverse the tendency for small businesses to manage spaces on the beaches, offering an easy service structure, thus turning the tent or deckchair into the main business.
No, it can't be like that! The beaches are free, they must be public, the municipalities must maintain and manage them together with the National Coastal Agency.
We need to raise public awareness to keep it clean. The year 2025 will be challenging in this increased awareness.
On the other hand, we will almost double the number of public beach spaces. We will give the municipalities the opportunity to offer umbrellas and sunbeds at a cheaper price than the private ones, so that we have several options and then the customer can choose.
We have introduced a new element - which is not easy to implement due to the relief - that every 1 kilometer has 300 meters of public beach. Also, where there is a sandy coast, the space up to 10 meters from the coast will be free, while where it is rocky - up to 7 meters.
Radio Free Europe: Tourists appreciate the beauties that Albania offers, but there are some complaints related to public transport, waste, and to some extent even prices. Are you addressing these or other issues?
Mirela Kumbaro: There are indeed some problems. Regarding prices, there are two criteria: transparency in prices in whatever service is offered - to give the customer the opportunity to get to know the prices at the entrance and to choose - and, secondly, are the obligations that the entities have towards the state.
The fiscal voucher system is a system that is working very well. Of course, there is evasion, so there is also a control system. If the price is transparent and the entity pays its obligations, the rest is supply and demand.
Public transport is still a problem that needs to be fixed. The flows increased faster than we were prepared to respond.
The Ministry of Infrastructure is preparing the establishment of a new public transport agency, which will be equipped with sufficient fleets of cars, buses that will be public, to manage public transport in a more controlled manner, especially towards major tourist destinations.
It will start with these destinations and the points where there are large flows of tourists - especially the ports, the airport - and then the distribution network continues.
Waste is the biggest challenge, because it's one thing... You have 2.5 million inhabitants and you face five times that population with tourists, who are often less responsible than in their own countries.
Albania, from one year to another, is much cleaner, but this is a work that does not stop.
We have a dedicated beach operation starting June 15th until September 15th, when we double the cleaning capacity in vehicles and people across the coast, in order to have a 24 hour cleaning service.
This problem is not solved by just adding money, unless we have the involvement of everyone. We need inclusiveness of the private and the public. Not to increase the millions of tourists who are cheap tourists, but to offer opportunities for elite tourism.
Radio Free Europe: In the face of the tourism boom, the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has stated that the protection and conservation of nature will also be a challenge. How will this balance be achieved and maintained?
Mirela Kumbaro: Natural destinations related to biodiversity and protected areas are increasingly in demand and very important, because they keep tourism alive throughout the year.
If he comes to visit a natural park, national or protected landscape, he will not want a walk for a few hours, but will stay, consume.
Even in the legal revisions, we have taken into account to preserve the principle of sustainable tourism, so that the local economy can survive.
Abandoning the villages and moving towards the south or Tirana is not a solution.
The fact is that we see an increase in the number of visitors to protected areas. Of the 4 million that were years, only in the first ten months [of this year] were 4.9 million.
Radio Free Europe: You have considered the legal changes for Protected Areas as "opening the way for the development of tourism within these areas", but there is criticism from environmental organizations that, in fact, it is paving the way for their concretization...
Mirela Kumbaro: The development of tourism in these areas without damaging the environment is the principle we want to follow.
I know that there is a lot of talk about concreting, but concreting is not the only possibility to develop this sector.
There are plenty of models in the world that we can choose from, without repeating the mistakes that have been made. It is enough to mention the mistakes that were made in the 90s, 2000s or even until 2015, where constructions without permission were allowed.
It is controlled and selected to preserve biodiversity and nature.
Radio Free Europe: The northern area of Albania has still unexploited tourist assets. Are there any plans to improve this situation?
Mirela Kumbaro: The north of Albania has a tremendous potential. We have suffered for decades from the abandonment of the North - both internally and externally.
But now we see that there is an interest of the diaspora to return to the lands of the ancestors.
We see Thethi from an abandoned place, today there are hostels and lodges, it has a capacity of two thousand beds and it has become quite frequented. This has also happened thanks to the development of infrastructure.
These are opportunities for development and revitalization of abandoned areas, to attract their residents to invest in them. Packages of rules and laws are being prepared, so that they can inherit their properties and prosper them.
Radio Free Europe: In 2025, Albania will be a place of honor at the Berlin Fair. What does this mean for him?
Mirela Kumbaro: Albania has been selected by the largest fair in the world, ITB Berlin, as a country of honor in 2025.
There will be a 100% presence of Albania in a market where tour operators from hundreds of countries of the world participate; 2025 deserves to be the year of touristic Albania, when we will adopt the national tourism strategy.
Radio Free Europe: What is the level of regional cooperation that, as you said, "completes a regional tourism map"?
Mirela Kumbaro: Regional cooperation is very important. Flows from the region make up the largest number, due to proximity, common cultures, language when it comes to Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, etc.
But we also have a significant increase in tourists from Bulgaria, Romania and even further from the countries of Central Europe.
We firmly believe that we have the opportunity for the Balkans to be presented as a single tourist destination, especially when tourists come from distant markets such as: America, Australia, etc. To have the opportunity to visit destinations in all countries in a few days. Opening markets serves all countries.
https://www.evropaelire.org/a/shqiperia-synon-turizem-elitar-me-gjte-sfidat/33212382.html
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