Big plans for Albanian tourism, but outlook is poor

By Neviana Dosti Jun 4, 2007, 11:31 GMT

Tirana - The plans and hopes of Albania's conservative cabinet for the current summer tourist season are ambitions despite the grim realities of what is effectively a virgin destination.

Tourism Minister Ylli Pango said that one million foreign tourists - 100,000 more than in 2006 - were expected for the first time ever on the country's coast. Albania only opened up to foreigners in the mid-1990s after five decades of an isolationist communist regime.

In a bid to lure more guests, Albanian authorities recently passed a law setting up special tourist service bureaus in centres such as Durres, Vlora, Saranda and Velipolja and are planning to scrap a 20 euro (27 dollars) border-crossing fee.

Speaking at the presentation of the tourism offer of Durres on Thursday, President Alfred Moisiu said that Albania planned to rake in 800 million dollars, though acknowledging that 'much needs to be done' to improve services.

Albania offers beautiful beaches, untouched by the boom which draws millions to other emerging destinations as Bulgaria, Montenegro and Turkey - but it offers little beyond that, as even on mostly empty beaches the rare tourist must wade through piles of garbage.

Local authorities often seem disinterested in the tourism business - for instance, despite trying for years, the French giant Club Med has still not managed to erect one of its villages on Albania's stunning southern coast.

The overall level of service quality is not only desperately low, but is also inscrutable, as just 36 of the 666 operating hotels have a licence and only 31 of those are ranked within the 'star' system.

A guest occupying one of the roughly 21,000 beds is likely to face blackouts or dry water taps owing to infrastructure problems and illegal construction, but would still pay 50-60 euros a night.

Even in places where there is a will to improve, some thousands of ownership restitution claims for land nationalized by the communists after World War II may block investments and development.

Adding to the aggravation is a huge disregard for the environment, leading among other things to health-threatening pollution.

In Durres, Albania's second-largest city, the most important port and where Moisiu spoke about tourism, the sewage system drains unfiltered into the sea, though there is a beach nearby where the local population seeks refreshment in the summer.

Albania, which remains among the poorest countries in Europe, has no money yet to finance the construction of sewage-processing facilities and not just in Durres.

Even as officials speak of an expected expansion in tourist numbers, the problems have become too much for an increasing number of Albanians.

More and more of them prefer to drive a few hours to the north, across the border to Montenegro, or south to Greece, instead of facing the neglect on the beaches of their own country.