Tourism in Albania. The beginning and her development.
Tourism in Albania is an important branch of Albanian economy. Albania is blessed from many touristic destination and for everyone who comes to Albania for visit and vacation has much how to look in it. To arrive in actual days, Albania had needed to do a long way. For this reason, would be interesting to take a look about her development touristic.
Albania. Albania had declared her independence at 1912. Not known a right date where tourism has beginning, or when had came first tourists in Albania. Due to lack of infrastructure, tourism had been underdevelopment branch of economy. Before Independence, Albania has been visited from different travelers, explorers, or different merchants who brought their products and took Albanian products. The most known persons who visited Albania are Evlija Çelebi, most known English poet Lord Byron that has written poetry about Albania. We don’t forget to mention Edith Durham, a big name for Albania, who had done so much to promote Albania and write important studies for it.
Tourism in first steps. With Independence, Albania began to build first roads in the ground that later will helping at development of tourism. At King Zog era, had attention about development of this section, which has direct impact in the economy of this country. Everyone who goes to Albanian Embassies at European Capitals with his goal to visit Albania, along with the visa, was given also the tourism card that began with remove with tax of the visa. With this card, the tourist has endless benefit during Albania’s stay. Tourists who visit Albania are mainly from Italy, but had from another country like France, Germany, United States, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands etc.
Tourism in Communism period. When the communists gets in power, every private factories and ventures gets in the hand of the State. From this, didn’t survive the tourism section. The touristic place was surrounded by wires with thorns. For most powerful persons has special vacation house, well known as “waiting house”. While for the people who wants to go for vacation had vacation camps. If someone wants to go in these places needed to take a special permission. Until relationships with soviets are broken, foreign tourist who comes to Albania are from soviet places but have from Czechoslovakia, Poland etc. When the relationships with the soviets are broken, Albania is opened to China and for this reason the tourist generally were from China. With foreign tourist had special protocol that began at border entry points. Every male tourist that has long hair and beard, he must shave from barber who waits him in these points. Also the clothes must be suitable with Albanian standard. The foreign tourists didn’t permission to contact local residents and the hotels that for at moment are staying foreign tourists is forbidden to take local residents. The main reason is because local residents maybe could be indoctrinated from the foreign tourists. The competent persons tried to tell another Albania to foreign tourist. These tourists could do any photo or video, but after this must be checked from the competent persons. After Hoxha’s death, Albania tried to do softer rules about foreign tourist but don’t have any indication of increasing of tourists.
Today’s tourism. After Communism period has ended, Albania had opened to the West. State’s factory were privatized. Although, Albania had a good will to wait as many tourists as possible, this is almost impossible. The lack of modern infrastructure like hotels, resorts, lack of the rules, especially on the beach, had affected that foreign tourist’s number to stay in low levels. For this moment, Albania didn’t have any promote about her touristic places in the world. Later, comes 1997, which for Albania and her economy was a true earthquake, in the true sense of the word. In the middle of years 2000, Albania in her efforts to do more accessible, had raised with thousands kilometers of second roads, adopted a series of laws for the tourism’ section. Albania, today, can counted with the millions tourists within a calendar year who comes from all over the world, but especially from the neighbor countries. The presence of many hotels, resorts, public and private beach, and above all the big promote that Albania is doing about this had affected that tourism’ section gives their fruits to Albanian economy. Albania still needed to improvements in terms of organizing of this field, but one thing we must point out: Tourism is in its best days. There are thousands of jobs and bring significant revenues to the state budget. From what we have just said, the year 2020 should be excluded, which was a difficult year, due to the situation that undoubtedly affected tourism, which we hope will pass as soon as possible.
