Remarks by Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you so much for this very high interest. That is very obvious when you look the venue from here, and I don’t want to take a lot of your time because you are here to explore more opportunities and to look into projects and to find out Potential partnerships, but I want to say a few words starting from the very fact that what we are witnessing today would be absolutely not possible to be imagined, even five years ago.

It was really very tough moment when we had to face how far and how much behind we were compared to the world out there, compared to our neighbors, compared to the big forces of this industry in our continent.

There was no five star, and not only there was no five star in the country, but there was no potential five star in the horizon. And approaching the excellence of the industry was always an embarrassing exercise, because there would be just formally kind, but they would push us back by saying we are not yet there, and we don’t have any plan to look into your country.

So our country was really a black hole in the map of the tourism industry in Europe, and what we counted as tourists and what we had statistics relying on were practically numbers of passengers getting in and out, including ourselves.

So every one that would get out from the country to do something, whatever work or meeting family outside or having holidays, once he. Registered himself or herself back in the check-in in our airport was counted as a tourist, and although this count was inflated, it couldn’t reach more than 2 million.

While now we are above the 12 million, and we are really in a moment that instead of being happy for the increase of the demand, we are worried about the needs, the urge. the urgent need to increase quality, because we can’t see any more that side of the medal which is now shining, but which can become tomorrow too shining and somehow blinding for the future of the country, because we all know that big numbers of medium-low income bring big stress on our infrastructure, on our services, on our environment, and also on our people.

So, of course, we know that mechanisms to prevent more people to come do not exist, but in the same time, we are very much aware that we should create more space, more conditions for excellence to come in and to become a force in itself in the country.

While getting to the second floor, I’m sure you could you could look into some of the mock-ups that have been exhibited downstairs, which are the result of an incredible work that is being done since some years now in this country with very prestigious architecture practices and amazing creative minds in the world of urban planning and architecture.

It is from there that we are starting, and it is through there that we hope to get more interest and to get more traction in terms of having more brands in terms of a more high-income tourism. So it’s great to be here. It’s great to have here all these names. Although I’m someone that I’m never happy when it comes to the results, Because the results can always be better, and we need more, and we need not only more, but we need more, and we need them now.

So I know that some of these brands are already active. Few of them maybe are still thinking, but there are out there others that are not yet here. So this is what we want to do. And what I learned in this journey of mine is that whatever you say, it’s important, but till a certain point.

What is more important is what people see, what people experience, and in that regard, these millions and millions of tourists have been the most helpful force to break the chain of stereotypes, to crack and to crack and crack the wall that divided Albania from the rest of Europe, and that was built in many years by prejudgment, by bad judgment, and by reckless judgment.
So, these tourists have become our best ambassadors and the best friends of Albania, and they have helped to bring more people because they have witnessed back home that Albania is not the country where you should be happy when you are robbed and not raped, but it’s the country where hospitality is organic, where the sun shines much more beautifully than in Brussels, where food is much better than in many places of Europe, and more importantly, where both nature and people are still there to embrace you. Of course, we know we have problems.

Of course, we know we have still struggles. Who doesn’t? But we know also that we are in the right path, and now we are facing a new challenge. We are facing the challenge of the fear from thinking bigger and dreaming bigger of standing without suspicion and without trembling when big investments are ready to come, billions and billions are ready to be put in Albania to transform this country into something still more different than it is today.

But these are the challenges of progress. These are challenges of change, and we are here to face them because the only thing and the best thing we know how to do is to fight. I will continue to fight. I will continue to stand for the country and for the future. And we will do better also in understanding them who are scared of the future.

But by definition, whomever is here today is not scared of future, but is here to exactly embrace the future in one way or the other. So thank you very much for attending. And I see some faces I’ve already seen in the past. I see some other faces that I see for first time, but I know that Albania has crossed what was its most difficult line.

Now it’s not any more impossible. It’s the easiest thing to say to people: come to Albania because when you say come to Albania, everyone smiles and answers. I’ve been to Albania, or I can’t wait to come to Albania. Once upon a time, come to Albania was like an invitation to hell, and people would kindly decline without telling you no, but without giving you any smile, so I’m happy that you are all smiling, and I’ll be happier if I’ll smile because of you making deals here.

So make your deals, don’t lose the opportunity, because you know, one time, one once I met a big investor from United States, and I said to him, “Come to Albania, and he said to me, very bluntly, “Albania is not ready for me. And some time ago, he calls me and he says I want to come Albania, and I said to him, Albania has no time for you. So this will come. So take your time now, make the best out of it because when you will think too long, you may find yourself in a position that Albania has already become too busy, and will not have time for you. Thank you so much.