Did we make the first right step in the Road of Tourism Industry?

Albania is recognized as a tourism destination at the Mediterranean coast and has a competitive position in the international tourism market. The contribution of tourism sector is gone to be significant. The tourism industry belongs to the most important growth industries in Europe and all over the world. At the beginning of this decade 5.5 per cent of the gross domestic product was achieved in the sector of tourism (in the narrowest sense) that means 6 per cent of the employed and more than 30 per cent of the services of the EU. Within the EU there are currently two million enterprises doing their business in this industry, mainly small and medium sized enterprises. From the economic point of view a support of this sector is very attractive because in the tourist industry above the average growth rates are being achieved, we are dealing with a labour-intensive branch with relatively low possibilities for an increase in productivity, a very wide range of qualifications is covered by the employees. But Albania is considered as well as the last secret in Europe for its undiscovered marvelous upland places. If there is a goal of extending membership of EU to the South Western Balkans, through the enhanced support from the European Integration Partnerships, there we should find the possibility for the countries of the Western Balkans to participate in some common programs. Through these programs they should take ownership of the regional cooperation and get encouraged to develop practical forms of collaboration. Inspired by the pre-accession phase of the current enlargement, these partnerships would identify priorities for action along their preparations to closer integration with EU. These partnerships could draw short and medium term goals, through developing action plans with a timetable for progress. Environment protection and management is one of the most important problems of our life. This issue is restraining Southwest Balkan countries too, trying to reinforce institutional capacities and meet European standards. Environment could play an important role in the reconstruction process, as far as environment issues (they often have cross border implications) ,always, have been an instrument of co-operation and root facilitators for communication between countries. Environment issue offers to assist STABILISATION as a politically neutral question: it is easy to have agreements that chip into the improvement of broad ranged cross border communication. Actually, the Southwest Balkan environment looks hardly damaged, bearing out the post-war detriments, the insufficient and/or inadequate institutional infrastructure, changes in the industrial system, and the attenuated urban pollution. Watching onto the transitory experience of Central and East European countries, it is evident that middle-term environmental projects are indispensable for local governments and communities. They also have an explicit influence into the short and long-term benefits of an environmental reconstruction strategy. The up to date practice shows us that the sources of collaboration, which give the best results, must go some specific paths: - Enhance and promote active interregional partnerships at local level, in all the participating regions through all public or private organisations, which have responsibility and interest on the given issue.

Develop a tangible and sustainable interregional co-operation based on factual common work, both in local and regional level, aiming real results, which enable improvement or benefit of know-how.

What a brainstorming we need on this topic! Wow, lol! We must go through empty dreams to concerted plans among all the actors that become decision making factors under the scrutiny of facts. Business environment, Local people including cross border counties around Albania, Local NFPOs, Students, Media, Local governing institutions must enter the working scene to manifest their capacities and become designers and implementers at the same time. Indeed, some general problems undermine the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. Different forms of industrial and agricultural activity affect many natural resources. When natural resources are part of a shared commons and access to their use is open to all, this means that there is often little incentive for individuals to conserve and use them in a responsible way. Overexploitation can be the result. A poorly defined or disputed right of ownership or access to resources weakens the incentives to preserve and use natural resources in a sustainable way. Considering the environment resources and potential possibilities for the development of all tourism types, it can be declared that Albanian areas offer a special structure. Albanian areas is a rare intersection of regions surrounded with highlands beautiful pastures, beautiful seashores, rivers and the beautiful lakes. It is a geographic area supposedly divided in a coastal western side and a continental eastern side, joining up in a marvelous range of different mountain ranges. Well - known experts in the tourism field from different countries of the world have admitted that Albania has the full possibility to develop the ecological tourism, becoming, in the future, an exceptional case in the whole Europe. To get aware of what we are going to affront with, first of all we have to accept the broader concept of tourism as a Travel & Tourism Industry that brings to life a Travel and Tourism Economy. It is a fact that Albanian Tourism Dream needs to cope urgently with the principal issues for a normal T&T Industry, that means Accommodation, Catering, Entertainment, Recreation, Transportation and other Travel related Services. A cool headed analyzer will say: Hey fellows, it is a myriad of quantitative and qualitative questions to answer and issues to resolve. Everywhere you see loopholes, from poor infrastructure to garbage covered areas, everywhere you have something to fix and everything needs to get reconnected over and over. What about it? Dont despair, dont panic, will say the wise, use your imagination, that very gift of the Human nature. Be creative, be assertive! Therefore, dear concerned persons; think globally and act individually! Get informed about general trends and use the best of your creative resources to do something new, something that becomes attractive under the sign of quality or typology of services you offer. But never forget the Golden Rule of Albanians, which sounds The eminent Brave stays with a lot of Friends Maybe Im going too long in this modern tale of Tourism, but, please allow me to underline some very important topics that need to focus on with the same

consideration from all the actors and factors above mentioned: Natural resources Natural resources can be identified as resources that are not created by men, but that can be destroyed by them. Beaches, vegetation, clean waters and clean air can be damaged by overusing and/or misusing. Maintenance and adequate regulations are necessary to be set up, in order to have the desirable natural resources. Infrastructure The indispensable infrastructure should be planned in a way to be compatible with the future development. Facilities to face the increasing seasonal demand should be set up (sewage system, electric power system, water supply system, etc.). Long-term plans need to be developed and adapted as a part of the public process, to make possible that inhabitants, as well as businessmen, become aware of the economic value of future development. Hospitality and culture Hospitality and culture are the heart of tourism industry. Although the activity could be relaxant, educational, historical, related to business, or just rest local hospitality and culture can empower or destroy the community programme. Tourism, more than any other branch of economic activities needs a soul, a special soul to fly sure toward the dreams of a better future. A set of common steps are obligatory to all those concerted in tourism environment and entrepreneurship. Enhance common visions on local resources based sustainable development. Improve economic cooperation between operators in the area through progressive practicing of free tourist trade. Address environmental issues in general and specific environmental issues. Discuss and get together the vision for practicing a common tourism in the future. Make a common trilingual or more tourists guide on Albanian areas. Organize cooperation within, giving to people the opportunity to discover and understand their cultural heritage, and to learn more about the common culture and tourist attractions. Organize specific informing to technicians, operators and students in the form of leaflets containing data on environmental and cultural common heritage. Organize media campaigns about the common attractions of areas identified as tourism potential resources. Provide intensive informing to local governing institutions interested by tourism activities; invite them to strengthen the cooperation with NFPOs. A special responsibility is addressed to those technical schools and faculties teaching tourism and tourism related matters. Becoming more analytic and going to face out the miles to go we must concentrate on this analysis:

Potentials of the region Climatic conditions The predominantly Mediterranean climate of Albania is very much in favor of tourist activities. Particularly a warm climate and little rain are typical of the summer months. On the other hand the mountainous regions offer a welcome change with lower temperatures, which favor sporting activities like walking, mountaineering or rafting. It offers a prolonged seaside from Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea, 320 km long mainly unexploited full of seaside resorts. Natural and cultural resources Albania has a variety of unspoiled landscapes. Between the borders and near the harbors there is a coastal area, which consists of beaches with fine sand. Apart from the beaches, there are the lagoons to be mentioned, which are already protected as an exceptional untouched countryside and which are particularly attractive for environment-friendly day trips due to the culinary delights of the local enterprises. Velipoja in the north and Saranda in the South are already used intensively by tourists. The lakes of Shkodr, Ohrid and Prespa are the most important lakes of Balkans. These lakes are distinguished by their impressive landscape and rich flora and fauna. Especially the lakeshore is up to now only little developed for tourist purposes; however it has a high potential. The same can be said about other nature reserves. River valleys offer a huge potential of highly attractive tourism. Different manmade lakes increase the natural potential and diversity. People can get there relatively easily. Highlights of Albania are the Albanian Alps. This landscape is still unspoiled in many parts and stand out for its exceptional beauty and its rich biodiversity. Moreover, there are mineral springs and rare medicinal herbs, which can only be found in Northern Albania, and thus open new perspectives for health tourism. Talking about natural resources a number of reservoirs must be included; they can be easily opened up for water sports. Particularly Kuks would be the ideal place for such a use. As cultural attractions the fortresses of Albania, from Butrinti and Tepelena in the south up to Lezh and Shkodr have to be mentioned. The old buildings, as well as the old towns or part of towns offer additional travel incentives. The same applies to a number of sacred buildings once their restoration will be completed. Cultural heritage comes from antiquity: Butrinti, Durresi, Apollonia, going on with medieval objects, folklore, ethnography, and non-material heritage as music, traditions, customs and culture.

Infrastructure, enterprises and tourism

Infrastructure Within the last years some motorways, which connect Vlora via Fier to Tirana and Shkodra to Tirana with the airport of Rinas, were completed. Moreover there are two newly improved roads leading from Shkodr to Montenegro and from Gjirokastra to Janina. Therefore a journey by plane to Northern Albania is also possible via Podgoriza. At least the coast of Northern Albania is thus within easy reach. As well other southern coasts are of easy reach via Corfu in Greece. This is only partly true for the mountainous regions although several small road projects were completed in the past. The deficiency in water supply is a significant negative factor for the tourism sector. The same applies to the disposal sector. The beaches and coastal places have considerable garbage problems. Until now there are not any studies, which give information to what extent the water quality at the beaches corresponds to the guidelines of the EU. This is particularly a serious obstacle for Western European travel agencies. Therefore it is no surprise that till now the main part of the guests are Albanians from home or abroad. Another grave problem in the long run is the building without any plan and to a large extent the construction of illicit buildings in the coastal places. This behavior puts the availability of important areas for the tourist development at risk. Private Enterprises Everywhere in Albania there has a construction boom taken place for several years now. A lot of hotels and restaurants have been built particularly in the towns along the newly constructed motorways. These activities have directly led to a strong increase in employment in the enterprises, whereas indirectly the construction industry and the suppliers have likewise profited from this growth. First bottlenecks already appear on the labor market in the sector of key skills, for example in the profession of cooks. In addition there are more far-reaching problems in the enterprises: Outside Tirana restaurants show only a low differentiation in their offers. The same can be said about the hotels. In the holiday resorts you can hardly find companies which comply with Western European standards. These bad conditions are neither the results of a missing awareness of problems nor a lack of investment funds. Tourism as a chance for the development of the labor market and for additional incomes is also intensively discussed among regions and communes. To overcome these weaknesses counseling and an increase of the skill level are likewise necessary for the company owners as well as for their staff. According to INSTAT, MRTT and some local expertise in 2004 they reported 600 hotels in Albania offering a total amount of 16000-17000 beds.

General considerations Albania is distinguished by an excellent climate and an abundance of untouched natural and historical resources. Thus the region has the potential to surpass the average share of employment in the European tourism industry considerably. Apart from the coast the comparative advantages of Northern Albania cannot be a promotion of mass tourism. It is true that the coast still offers significant potentials for development, but their utilization requires a multi-year process of planning and development. The unsolved problems of ownership represent a further obstacle. For the mountainous regions a combination of trekking tours, rural-, health- and ecotourism could be developed. In the long run business tourism will become more important in Albania. Moreover the cultural tourism could be expanded substantially. At the same time the mentioned products define the target groups in whom the tourism industry should specialize. However, a regional problem has to be taken into account as well. Up to now the emigrated Albanians and the Albanians from the neighboring countries represent the most important international group. To achieve a more differentiated structure of this industry it is also necessary to gain guests from other parts of Europe and worldwide. This however calls for a restructuring of the supply. At present Albania is competitive only in tourism in many areas as a result of low prices. In the near future it will be decisive to improve the qualitative component. The available capacities in the tourism industry still represent a clear bottleneck. In the mountainous regions they are seriously limited by the condition of the traffic infrastructure. Special Interest tourism is the most attractive tourism in Albania. There is a pattern: Albania, Machine of time, European Museum in an open sky. Actually, it is a very comfortable area of tourism which needs a minimum investment to develop in a short and medium term. It is the preferred country for tourists with interest in environmentally oriented outdoor sport activities. The special interest tourism offers adventure, attracts special hobbies and cultural abilities, as eco-tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, cross border tourism, adventure tourism. There are great opportunities for people who want to climb in the mountains combining some kind of outdoor sports with mountain tourism like hiking, trekking, people who wants to drive with bikes, horses etc. as horseback-riding, river rafting, paragliding, mountain biking, scuba diving, canoeing, etc in places where is not necessary the physical infrastructure, even not requested any investment, people who desire adventures, as living in the wild nature that is so beautiful, people with many hobbies in rare fields which are so opportune in a diversity geographic position of our country. There are a lot of national parks or natural reserves protected by law, which would show the opportunities for agro tourism in Albania. A lot of other kind of tours should get organized in the framework of this special tourism like: Half day and day tours of: - historical interest, archaeological interest, cultural interest, rural interest, - study tours on culture and religion interest. - Mixed tours: Compilation of packages over several days highlighting special interest tourism activities.

In this special interest tourism exists a very special target market as: Young adventurers interested in outdoor sport activities, experienced senior travelers, with medium to high income, people with open-minded and people interested in education, history and civilization. The local representatives of the tourism industry should suggest a development concept for their communities, which contains details about the categories to be developed, the target groups, an analysis of the existing capacities and demand and in addition to that the professional capacities to build. On this basis a marketing strategy has to be drawn up in coordination with the local and regional authorities. A development of cross-border activities is particularly promising. Actually, Albania is represented regularly at two of the most prominent European and Worldwide International Fairs: ITB Berlin and W.T.M London. Albanian tourism was promoted as well at the Sea Countries Biennale in Napoli and at Fiera del Levante in Bari, Italy. There is the place we have to learn the lesson that says People from highly developed countries consume more quality then quantity. Rethinking Tourism! Rethinking tourism not only as an economic value, leads us to memories imprinted to us from ancient and wise ancestors who commanded that Three are the things you must share with others if you have in abundance-wealth, honor and wisdom. Doesnt it resemble to the Global ethics Codex for the tourism of the world tourism organization (World Trade Organization)? The contribution of the tourism to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies: Are confirmed the goals, which are stated in article 3 of the statutes of the world tourism organization, and the "crucial and central" role of this organization consciously, like them by the general assembly of the United Nations were recognized are, for the promotion and development of the tourism, with the intention, to economic development, international communication, of contributing to the peace, prosperity and the general respect for and the keeping of the human rights and fundamental liberties of all humans without differences regarding race, sex, language or religion, It is firmly convinced of the fact that the tourism represents an important strength for the peace and an element of the friendship and the understanding among the peoples of the world by the direct, spontaneous and sudden contacts, which it brings out between men and women of different cultures and life-styles, Maybe the code PLURIC is the key to future developments, and it means for sure: Peace, Love, Understanding, Respect, Initiative, and Cooperation. I hope we will find that key, lost in the mist of times. Ing. Ali Lacej CEO of ERA ngo October, 2007