To successfully compete with its Adriatic-Ionian neighbors for tourist euros from sun-starved northern Europe, Albania must improve the quality of services it provides before its plans for a southern international airport take flight.
TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
Overhearing a random conversation in a Tirana coffeeshop sums up the plight of Albanian tourism: “I’m thinking about going to Corfu this year,” says one woman, already planning her summer vacation. “You get what you pay for there and the food is good. It’s more expensive on the Albanian coast, and I got food poisoning last year.”
Whether such perceptions are real or not, they are widespread among domestic tourists – particularly those who can afford better standards for their vacations. These tourists often shun the options inside Albania for neighboring countries, complaining of bad service and a lack in modern tourist infrastructure.
If it can’t win over the well-off locals, how can the country then try to win over typical middle class tourists from northern Europe that are looking for some sun and sand this summer – the type other Adriatic-Ionian countries like Croatia and Greece get – and the type that Albania must receive if it ever wants to fully develop into a tourist hot spot.
The answer lies in raising standards and paying attention to details. Service and quality must be based on strict regulations that are fully observed by a new generation of tourism professionals. New programs are currently underway to properly train people, but there needs to a focus on elevating quality beyond “good enough” standards that so often sell this country short. The state clearly has a role, but the industry must also set self-regulating mechanisms. It makes business sense to do so.
It will take some time, but if just a few places get it right and convince just enough tourists to come for the service, not just the natural beauty, of which Albania has plenty, then tourism in the country can flourish.
If Albania wants to compete with the more experienced neighbors, it needs to set a better price-quality equation. It has an advantage in pricing when it comes to the labor costs, but other costs are a bit harder to calculate.
One of the elements is the cost of actually getting to Albania for tourists that come outside the region. As we explore in this issue (see article on page 3), a concession agreement signed nearly a decade ago means Albania is stuck with a single international airport, hours away by vehicle to the southern coast, the most suitable area for international tourism development. An international flights monopoly also appears to have resulted in higher fees than regional competitors. However, the consortium that runs the airport has also invested heavily and vastly improved the airport experience for travelers.
The government said this week it would renew efforts to build a new international airport in southwestern Albania, somewhere in the Vlora or Saranda regions, but without an agreement with the concession consortium that runs the Tirana airport, it will another decade before such hypothetical airport can even start operations.
Authorities envision a time in the near future when Albania can copy the full-package tourist deals applied by Greece and Croatia. These all-inclusive packages bring planeloads of sun-starved northern Europeans to the Mediterranean shores.
But to get there, tourism efforts must first walk – through creating better hotel infrastructure and providing quality service.
To successfully compete with its Adriatic-Ionian neighbors for tourist euros from sun-starved northern Europe, Albania must improve the tourism infrastructure on the service side before its plans for a southern international airport take flight.
