Following his visit to Vlora, Prime Minister Rama held a discussion with tourism operators on the approaching season, the improvement of service quality, support for tourism entrepreneurs, and the promotion of Vlora as an important gateway of Albanian tourism at the center of global attention.
The Prime Minister highlighted the profound transformation that Vlora has undergone over the past decade, also emphasizing the importance of urban aesthetics, cleanliness, and the management of public spaces, considering these elements essential for the tourist experience and the city’s reputation.
For their part, tourism operators and representatives of local institutions raised issues related to improving public transport, waste management, the development of supporting infrastructure for maritime tourism, and the enrichment of the cultural offer through museums and new attractions.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: I want to make a clarification because Bledi said “there has been no prime minister who has had so many contacts with tourism operators,” but in fact there have been no tourism operators who have had contacts with prime ministers. And as I was coming down the steps here, at what I would call the “navel” of tourism in Vlora—because this is the navel here, this is where the first seed of an ambition was planted to go beyond what existed at that moment, I was thinking exactly about this: what used to be here when Liro’s place was an exclusive rest point, and this is not even 100 years ago.
What is today Lungomare was a road with two lanes, and on one side there was the sea, visible in fragments because it had been filled with constructions. On the other side there were holes, rubble, debris from new constructions, and along the entire stretch of new buildings on the Lungomare, the ground floors were almost empty, unused, because no one bought them.
For every country from which tourists come, in March compared to last March: visitors from Italy have increased by 10.9%, that is 11%. Visitors from the United States have increased by 45%. Visitors from Germany by 23%. Visitors from the United Kingdom by 22%. Visitors from Spain by 34%. Visitors from Austria by 20%. Visitors from Norway by 105%. Visitors from Belgium by 4%. And visitors from Denmark by 711% compared to last March. These are data from the border, which means I am speaking about figures for all of Albania, not only for Vlora.
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Albania will have the possibility to attract more visitors even out of the season, in autumn, if it is prepared for this. We see this also in the growing interest in investments in recent months, and I believe we should make use of this situation.
Of course, we could spend hours talking about what has gone well, but we are also here to talk a little about what has not gone well, because people come up with a certain idea, and if they find reasons to be dissatisfied, then not only do they not return, but this turns into a boomerang.
I know that we chose this system 35 years ago, and part of that choice is that prices are not set by the government, and governments have no instrument to control or impose prices. Here we are very clear. Prices are set by the market, but in this industry, prices should be guided by your strategic vision for the future of your investments.
If you are making truly massive, truly ambitious investments, some of you are working with foreign architects, aiming to build structures of the highest level, you know better than I do that hospitality requires large investment and has slow returns, secure but slow. It requires patience. You must think about the future of these investments.
This is not something I am saying for propaganda. Those who come for tourism, those who go into restaurants, make their own decisions. Our goal is to read what has happened to others. This is not something we are predicting out of thin air. It has happened to other countries.
At the moment when they suddenly found themselves facing the result of opening up and transforming into a sought-after destination, they became carried away and acted irrationally, offering poor services and setting high prices. As a result of the influx they faced, they thought narrowly, believing that the millions of visitors would always be there, and they began investing more, while at the same time trying to make high profits at that moment.
What happened? Their investments were left empty because people stopped coming.
If Vlora gains the reputation of a place where you pay more than what is offered, and where you pay more than you would pay in Greece, Turkey, or Croatia, then you will have dug your own hole.It is that simple.
So, you need at least a medium-term strategy on how you will make a reasonable profit, not the profit you might be able to make at that moment, because it can come back as a boomerang. It is that simple. Do as you wish, because as I said, the government does not set prices. But I am telling you some truths as someone who loves this city. I love this city as much as all of you who build without permits do, and I want what we have planted to be harvested—not in one season, but for generations.
Today Liro introduced me to his grandson. When Liro was struggling here, the grandson was a child. Then he went abroad, studied, paid for what was earned here, and now he has returned and helps with proper management. The point is that the continuity of this investment requires tourists. It requires tourists.
We are implementing extraordinary projects. The question is how capable these projects will be of bringing people to live and stay in Vlora. Vlora has all the potential to become like cities in Portugal, Spain, or Turkey, where foreigners come to live. It is entirely possible.
In this broader European context, Albania is a country where people live with a sense of security. Another point: in countries where tourism has developed, states provide financial support. Greece gives money from the budget to operators. What are we doing? We are supporting as much as we can. Fuel for yachts is tax-free, fuel for cars is taxed. Of course. Because yachts bring economic benefits, while cars pollute the environment. We need more marinas. We are investing. The marina in Vlora is progressing. It will be an important economic engine, bringing many visitors and consumers. The Durres Marina is also progressing. We have a project in Shengjin. We have signed a major contract with Fincantieri for the Pashaliman shipyard, where we will begin producing military vessels and become exporters. This will bring employment, consumption, and economic benefits.
So, we need to invest, to continue to invest a lot, but on the other hand we need to balance ourselves, my friends. It is very important, it is extremely important, also what tourists and visitors find outside the hotels. The aesthetics of public spaces are very important.
It is very, very important the satisfaction that people get from the city and get from the streets of the city and from the way public spaces in the city are arranged, or around you. It is very important. You see it, we are making a very large investment that goes from here down to Radhimë and then will extend to Orikum.
On the other hand, Lungomare 4 has started at the Old Beach, but it is very important to be very attentive to cleanliness. It is in your interest. The moment you see debris and waste being thrown away and they are 100 meters from your hotel; you must be concerned. For the beaches, I believe we have all made a good plan, based on what we have learned until now, but also based on the needs of tourism operators, and the last thing I have is the parking plan.
We need more parking across the whole territory of Albania, the urban territory of Albania. Two large parking areas will start soon, one at the square in front of the university in Skelë and one at the large Lungomare square, which will accommodate, if I am not mistaken, around 600 cars together, 250 one and 350 the other, something like that. Two parking areas, but they are not enough, therefore you should take this as an important investment with quick return.
It is, it is a different kind of hotel. A parking facility has no sheets, no chefs, no warehouse staff, nothing. It only has parking spaces, and it is a very useful, profitable investment.
So do not look at every space for apartment buildings, because we cannot fill neighborhoods with buildings, but look at spaces that are unused, between buildings or nearby buildings, make agreements with the owners and create parking. Make paid parking, it will return to you as a great benefit as tourism operators for the city.
We are preparing the plan, we will launch it soon, whether for parking financed by government entities, or parking financed by municipalities in cooperation with private actors, or parking that the private sector wants to build itself.
