Reports
MARKET REPORT ALBANIA
Albania
A rough diamond that needs plenty of work
After years in isolation, an
undiscovered Albania has shaken off the shackles from its communist era and is emerging as a prime tourist hot spot in the Balkan Peninsula. On the plus side, the hotel and gambling markets are booming. On the downside. there is an underlying current of corruption still prevalent.
Although Albania has never been high on the list of mainstream tourism brochures, with its relatively untouched land the country has a remarkable array of attractions, archaeological sites, beaches and cultural delights to offer.
Located in the southwest region of the Balkan Peninsula it offers a 362km coastline along the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea and shares borders with Greece, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo. Much of the country is mountainous with seven mountain ranges, 247 natural lakes and 25 canyons.
Te country emerged as a modern nation state in 1912 after the Balkan Wars. After being invaded by Mussolini, and then becoming a Nazi protectorate during the Second World War, the country saw widespread social and political changes during the communist era. For 40 years under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, and a totalitarian regime, the country was left in isolation and economic poverty.
P62 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
After the 1991 revolutions things began to change. Te Democrat Party won the elections and one of the poorest and most corrupt nations began to drag itself out from the dark ages and has finally emerged from its chrysalis into a Balkan butterfly.
Today Albania is a democratic and developing country. It is a member of NATO and the United Nations and an official candidate for European Union membership. Albania officially applied for membership in 2009 and was given candidacy status in 2014. However the EU gave the country five key concessions which included public administration and judicial system reform; combating corruption and organised crime and improving human rights.
And Albania has made huge improvements to date. It has attempted to tidy up its judicial system, opened refugee and homeless centres and has introduced a huge crackdown on cannabis growing and is slowly replacing this ‘cash crop’ with an agritourism business – connecting agricultural production with tourism. Now with accession talks due in June 2019 the country looks set to move forward.
Albania’s improvements have also seen a €35m grant from the EU and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to help develop the country’s tourism industry and infrastructure. Alongside the restaurant and agritourism scene the idea is to promote the country’s rich tapestry of traditions and landscape and highlight this often overlooked
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