Albania towards "smart" tourism - Gonxhja: Artificial Intelligence for a sustainable sector
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports Blendi Gonxhja represented Albania as one of the 31 speakers selected from 160 participating countries at the UN Tourism General Assembly, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In his speech, Minister Gonxhja emphasized the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in global tourism, highlighting Albania's efforts to improve the visitor experience, extend the tourist season, and diversify the tourism offer, including rural areas and local communities.
He presented the Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) 2025–2030, which places Sustainable and Diversified Tourism as one of the key areas for development and innovation. The strategy focuses on improving the quality of the visitor experience and extending the tourist season, diversifying tourism products beyond coastal areas, empowering rural areas, integrating technology, cultural heritage and creativity in an interdisciplinary sector.
A key component of the strategy is the adoption of International Sustainability Standards and the creation of “smart” destinations, updated with real-time data to manage visitor flows and protect natural resources. Minister Gonxha also highlighted the role of Artificial Intelligence in moving from “volume tourism” to “quality tourism”, enabling data management, preserving natural and cultural heritage, combating informality and increasing the economic performance of the sector.
But what is foreseen in the draft budget for 2026 regarding tourism development? Referring to the draft budget, for the next three years, 270 million lek will be invested in tourism development, respectively 90 million lek each year.
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