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Flights from the UK to Albania during summer are currently discounted, with round-trip prices below £50. Vacation rentals on the beach in Durres can be booked for less than £20 per night. A complete meal, including drinks, costs less than £10. However, the tourism minister of the country is determined to attract high-end tourists to Albania.
Mirela Kumbaro, who also has responsibilities related to the environment, spoke exclusively with The Independent. In a comprehensive interview, the Minister of Tourism stated that she is advocating for luxury hotels with well-known global brands, and criticized any comparisons made between Albania and the Maldives.
During the latter part of the 1900s, Albania saw a small number of international travelers. Ms Kumbaro notes that her country was under an extreme dictatorship for 50 years. Tourists were only allowed to participate in organized tours and were closely monitored. Male tourists with long hair or beards were required to get shaved and haircuts at the border.
The strict communist regime came to an end thirty years ago, but it is only now that Albania is easily reachable from the UK.
A study conducted by The Independent reveals that there are numerous flights offered by Wizz Air between Luton and Tirana in May, with round-trip prices under £50. These flights have multiple daily departure options.
In the summer of 2024, Ryanair will be vying for travelers to the Albanian capital from five airports in the UK: Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, and London Stansted. Meanwhile, British Airways will still be offering flights from London Heathrow to Tirana.
The cost of living in Europe is the most affordable, with hotel rooms in central Tirana selling for less than £30 and including breakfast. Apartments on the beach along the Adriatic coast are even more budget-friendly.
In 1989, visiting the beach at Durres in Albania was a far-fetched dream due to strict tourism regulations.
Ms Kumbaro is committed to preventing overtourism and attracting high-spending tourists, stating that there will not be mass-market beach vacations at Albanian resorts.
We believe that our roles complement each other on the tourism map of Croatia, Italy, and Greece.
“We won’t be witnessing a significant increase in the construction of hotels.”
There is a strong emphasis on adventure tourism beyond the coastal areas. The minister states that 75% of Albania consists of mountains, forests, and rivers.
At the moment, Tirana’s airport named after Mother Teresa is the sole means of air travel to Albania. However, a new airport is under construction in Vlore, located in the southern region of the country.
Ms Kumbaro believes that constructing a second airport in Albania will decrease the number of cars passing through the country and instead, attract more people. Currently, some tourists opt to fly into Corfu in Greece and take a ferry to southern Albania.
The minister of tourism disagrees with reports from last summer that compared Albania to “the Maldives of Europe” due to its beautiful white-sand beaches.
She stated that the most challenging task is to combat cliches. We have never referred to Albania as the “Maldives of Europe”. Albania is simply Albania.
“You have the opportunity to travel from the contemporary city of Tirana, which serves as a prime example of modern architecture, to ancient cities with a history dating back 2,000 years.”
Source: independent.co.uk
