By Ervin Lisaku
Spanish international tourism expert Carmen Alt고Machspeaks for Tirana Times after introducing the Spanish model for tourism development in Tirana last weekend at the European Academy 2010 organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) and its partners.
Ms. Altes, you returned to Albania almost 20 years after first
visiting it in the early 90s when the country had just emerged from nearly 5 decades of communism and isolation. What changes did you see in Albania and especially in tourism as an experienced international expert in this sector?
– I visited then Albania several times for a whole year as I was working with the Ministry of Tourism on a technical assistance project financed by the European Commission. The project aimed at attracting tourists to Saranda from Corfu, helping small entrepreneurs in the area and in Gjirokastra to set up their business plans, and I was also providing advice to the Ministry in marketing and other issues. We produced what probably were the first tourism brochures of Albania targeting the external market and I organized a study trip for public officials to Spain and the UK, where we visited tourism destinations, public administration services, and tourism companies.
At the time we landed at a small and old airport whose runway was lined up with bunkers and which offered little comfort to the traveler. In those days I stayed at the Dajti hotel where the service was very basic. I think it was the only hotel available.
I can attest that the progress made by Albania since my previous visits is huge and I was impressed by the positive things I saw in this trip.
First, there is a nice new airport with all the necessary facilities, and I was surprised at not seeing a single bunker when we were landing. In addition the new hotels in Tirana comply with international standards. There are nice restaurants and caf고with terraces, shops, ATM machines, taxi service, rent-a-car companies, good telephone and Internet connections and all basic services you find everywhere. The city center is clean and well kept and it is safe for tourists. These are all very positive changes.
I was nicely surprised also by the fact that most people I dealt with know other languages, even Spanish, and this is a key skill in tourism development.
On the other hand car drivers are somewhat aggressive and one feels threatened as a pedestrian.
The reason you were here was to bring the successful Spanish example to the European Academy, one seminar of which, was dedicated to tourism. Can you tell us in short about Spain’s experience as one of the top global tourist destinations and suggest what Albania can do to attract more tourists from the region and worldwide considering the similar diversity of tourism it offers compared to Spain, which of course is almost 18 times bigger in surface compared to Albania?
– The Academy has the support of AECID, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, and I was contacted by the Department of Tourism of the Government of Catalonia, the region where I live whose capital is Barcelona. For this reason I presented the experience of Spain, and the organization and activities conducted by the central government in this sector. These efforts are mainly focused in the international promotion of Spain, as well as fostering the competitiveness of the tourism destinations and services through technical assistance programmes and special financing lines.
In addition, I also explained the case of Catalonia, one of the leading destinations in Spain that receives over 20 million visitors a year. As we now have a decentralized system of government, the autonomous regions have the competencies on tourism development, and the regional governments, which are closer to the territory and the businesses, make the decisions accordingly.
From our experience, Albania’s public sector must show leadership and direct further efforts to:
1. Develop a sound legal framework regulating the sector, including provisions for foreign investment. I am not talking of bureaucracy but about regulations that orient the actions of the private sector and protect those who are serious about their business activities.
2. Ensure proper land and urban planning.
3. Protect the natural and cultural assets that are the basic attractions for tourism.
4. Provide the adequate basic and transport infrastructure that will facilitate tourism development.
5. Develop and train the human resources.
6. Conduct a well targeted marketing activity.
The accession to the EU provides both challenges and opportunities for Albanian companies and workers, as service companies and professionals from other EU countries will be able to set up business or work in Albania. If Albanian companies and workers are not competitive enough they will be at a disadvantage vis-a-vis foreign competitors.
Spanish ambassador to Tirana Manuel Montobbio said in the seminar that Albania needs big experienced entrepreneurs to bring standards to tourism and prevent ‘urban massacres’ like those in the coastal city of Durres and partly in southern Albania. The Albanian Parliament has recently approved some legal changes granting foreign investors full legal protection even in cases of property disputes. Do you think it’s high time government invited big international companies to invest in tourism in Albania considering that almost 90 percent of the country’s coastline and mountain areas are still almost virgin?
– I haven’t seen the southern coast but I briefly passed through Durres and I could see how fast the urban fabric has grown along the coast in an unplanned and disorderly fashion. Hotels and apartment building have been built almost on the beach without leaving any space to build a nice boardwalk which adds aesthetic interest to any urban coastal destination. It also allows the installation of restaurants and caf고that would contribute to attract visitors in times other than the peak season. Accessibility is key for tourist destinations and it should not be limited to a nice highway. Access to the beach in Durres is very difficult and there is almost no space for parking.
Furthermore, the beach was full of trash. It is now winter and a storm could be responsible in part for this situation. However, the tourist guide I bought in Barcelona before leaving for Tirana, which is published in several languages, says about Durres: “The beaches are overbuilt and they are no longer pleasant, mainly in the tourist season Šwhen beaches are packed with people and covered with waste, and the sea is full of plastic bottles and bags of chips.” The guide also says that only two hotels fulfill international requirements. This is quite damaging and efforts should be undertaken for cleaning up the beach.
The mass tourism model followed by many destinations in Spain since the 1960s, which for many years was successful in attracting tourists and offering business opportunities and jobs, has been showing the signs of decline associated with mature destinations: high urban density, impaired transportation infrastructure, a concentration of substandard hotels, decline in environmental quality, and price wars with the attendant decline in the quality of services offered due to low margins and little reinvestment. In this regard, Durres, and I am afraid that is also the case for other destinations in the south, are reaching what is known as a stage of decline in just a few years.
Many mature sun and beach tourism destinations in the Mediterranean which are over the top of their life cycles need a revitalization strategy in order to recover to a sustainable level of economic activity. They are suffering the consequences of a tourism model that is not viable anymore from the standpoint of any of the three areas of sustainable development: it is not good for business and for quality employment creation, it is bad for the environment, and does not contribute to enhance the quality of life of the local population.
Bringing those destinations into a path of sustainable development is a long term and expensive process which presents huge challenges that need to be overcome.
Multinational companies will not resolve by themselves the lack of urban planning and the environmental issues, and are not the most appropriate approach for every destination. However, nowadays they won’t invest in areas that do not provide the conditions to attract customers. On the other hand, multinational companies can bring expertise and set up a model for the standards of facilities and services, train workers, and if they find an attractive business environment they would invest heavily to bring tourists to Albania.
How careful must Albania be in promoting sustainable and well planned tourism, preservation of natural and cultural heritage?
– The territory and landscape as a whole, and the natural and cultural heritage in particular, are key assets for tourism development that must be managed with care. Tourists travel to the destinations they find attractive. They look for quality spaces that the tourism activity shares with other economic activities as well as with the local residents, and all together must provide a harmonic and friendly environment.
Sun and beach tourism is still an important segment of the tourism market. However, nowadays many people travel to get to know other countries, learn about their culture, or to visit natural and protected areas. Walking holidays, bird watching and other types of nature tours have experienced spectacular growth in the last years, as well as beach destinations in exotic and less developed locations. Albania, with its beautiful mountains and coastline, as well as its historic towns, has all the elements to become an attractive destination for this kind of tourism.
Moreover, as a reaction to the lack of identity of the mass tourism resorts, many tourists look for destinations that have been successful in preserving their culture. The intangible elements of culture such as history, gastronomy, music and folklore or popular celebrations can also be the basis for interesting tourism proposals that helps appreciating the local culture.
Those forms of tourism offer possibilities for economic development in rural and mountain areas contributing to regional development, as well as to preserving a strong cultural identity. Catalonia, which developed its coastal destinations decades ago has taken in recent years a less quantitative approach to tourism development giving increased importance to cultural, nature and small scale tourism.
Albania was isolated from the rest of the world for decades and it is understandable that local tourists, as well as visitors from neighboring Macedonia or Kosovo, prefer what they consider to be “modern” urban environments and facilities. However, it is important that Albanian citizens be aware of their landscapes, traditional architecture, and cultural richness, and the value that foreign tourists give to such things that they may not perceive as important since they belong to their everyday lives.
How did you find the participants’ interest in the tourism seminar, and one last impression of Albania if you had the opportunity to visit any town or cultural heritage site during your short stay?
– I was well impressed with the participants in the seminar most of them young professionals eager to learn about the Spain’s experience in tourism and about the European Commission activities in the sector. It was my impression that they were very excited of Albania becoming a member of the EU in the near future.
In my short stay I had also the pleasure to visit Kruja, a small town set on the mountain side that provided a beautiful view to the valley and the sea beyond. I was particularly impressed by the Skanderbeg museum that shows very nicely the history of Albania in the old days. It is very well kept and basic explanations are provided in English. I also enjoyed visiting the ethnological museum and the old bazaar where I bought a very nice rug. It is in fact a place with tourism potential, however there is a problem with traffic and the lack of parking once you reach the town, and the huge new buildings are spoiling the charm of the old town.
Carmen Alt고Machis Director at Innova Management, a consulting company based in Barcelona. She has a BA in Geography and History and has graduated in Tourism Management. With almost 30 years of experience in the field of tourism she has been actively involved in the activities of the EC in support of tourism development in third countries and has participated in many projects in Eastern Europe, Africa and The Caribbean. She also worked as a Tourism Specialist at the Inter American Development Bank, Washington DC, USA, and has been involved in many projects in Latin America. She was lecturer on Tourism Marketing at the High Institute of Tourism Studies (INSETUR), in Girona, Spain and has also taught in post-graduate courses on tourism management and professional development courses, in particular for SMEs.
