[AL] Lajme dhe Zhvillime nga Turizmi | Tourism News And Developments

[Saimir]

Hey all,

I never learned (and can’t be bothered) how to download pics here bur you can get tons of nice pics from the websites below. I got these websites from brochures from the Albanian exhibition at the “World Tourism Market” in London yesterday. By the way I also saw a 3-d model of the Ksamil complex posted above. Check the galleries section:

www.albaniantourism.com
www.albanianairsports.com
www.outdooralbania.com (check the activities section)
http://www.magictours.com.al (one of the best for pics, nature, history, monuments, folklore)
http://www.travel-day.com/
http://www.aths-travel.com/

[7t]

Austriakët: Dardha, potencial për kompleks skish

Dy specialistë austriakë vizitojnë fshatin turistik. Parashikohet të ndërtohet dhe një teleferik për këtë qëllim

Dy specialistë austriakë për ndërtimin e pistave të skive dhe të teleferikëve, kanë vlerësuar si mjaft të përshtatshëm fshatin turistik të Dardhës, për ndërtimin e një piste dimërore të skive, një projekt ky që parashikohet të realizohet vitin e ardhshëm, me financim të Ministrisë së Turizmit, Kulturës, Rinisë dhe Sporteve (MTKRS). Niko Balli, kryetar i Shoqatës së Agroturizmit për Rajonin e Korçës dhe një nga drejtuesit e shoqatës së fshatit Dardhë, tha dje për ATSH-në se “këtë fillimjave, fshatin turistik malor e vizituan dy specialistë austriakë, në kuadrin e zbatimit të një projekti për ndërtimin e një piste skish dhe të një teleferiku”.
Sipas tij, një specialist austriak për ndërtimin e pistave të skive dhe një tjetër për ndërtimin e teleferikëve, u njohën nga afër me terrenin e fshatit Dardhë dhe konkluduan si mjaft të përshtatshme ndërtimin e një piste skish për ushtrimin e sporteve dimërore dhe, njëkohësisht, për nxitjen e turizmit, siç parashikon dhe investimi i MTKRS-së. Kjo pistë e skive parashikohet të ndërtohet me një gjatësi prej 1.4 kilometrash, duke filluar nga pika më e lartë e malit të Suareve, në Dardhë, dhe me një gjerësi prej 40 metrash. Për të lehtësuar lëvizjen e sportistëve dhe të pushuesve në këtë ski pistë, është parashikuar të ngrihet dhe një teleferik për këtë qëllim.
Specialistët austriakë studiuan në Dardhë edhe klimën malore, temperaturat, si dhe trashësinë e dëborës dhe kohëzgjatjen e saj në periudhën e dimrit dhe u shprehën pozitivisht për ndërtimin e një piste skish në fshatin turistik. Ndërkaq, komuniteti i fshatit Dardhë, si dhe pushteti lokal po bëjnë përpjekje për të përfunduar dhe asfaltimin e 3 kilometrave rrugë, nga 14 gjithsej që lidhin Korçën me Dardhën, si dhe për të siguruar një furnizim sa më normal me energji elektrike, e domosdoshme kjo për periudhën e dimrit dhe funksionimin e teleferikut.
Pas përpunimit të të dhënave që kanë grumbulluar dy specialistët austriakë në fshatin Dardhë, pritet miratimi përfundimtar për ndërtimin e pistës së skive dhe të teleferikut, një projekt ky që parashikohet të realizohet vitin e ardhëshëm dhe që do të zhvillojë më tej turizmin në këtë fshat malor. Në fakt, Federata Shqiptare e Sporteve Dimërore ka zhvilluar dimrin e shkuar në këtë fash një kampionat kombëtar të skive, që gjithsesi ishte një përpjekje modeste, duke patur parasysh mangësitë e mëdha në infrastrukturë dhe logjistikë, që paraqet mjedisi në Dardhë. Gjithsesi, kjo nismë e shtetit shqiptar mund të cilësohet si mjaft e vlefshme, pasi do të ndikojë drejtpërsëdrejti në zhvillimin e sportit të skive në vend.

[lakerdar123]

english summary: two austraian ski specialists went to the village of Dardhe in the region of Korca. there they took measurements to see if a ski resort and cable lifts could be build. they showed positive signs and hoped to start construction in the coming year.

[ShqipeIvertet]

Dardha is breathtaking been there hundreds of times and is the most idealistic skii locations in Albania. My fav will always be Voskopja though the most important village and the biggest city of Southwestern Ballkans at one point with 16 monasteries. The Turks burned it down and my great grandparents used to say If Korca burns down Voskopoja will rebuild it but if Voskopoja burns down Korca could never do it. It remains true to this day...

[GreenAlbanian]

A friend of mine in Zagreb told me he saw the commercial on CNN on Albania's Tourism!

Do you guys know if thats true, I mean does Albania really have a commercial on CNN and if there a way to find it somewhere?!

Thanks ju kofte!

[IlliricumSacrum]

Originally Posted by GreenAlbanian

A friend of mine in Zagreb told me he saw the commercial on CNN on Albania's Tourism!

Do you guys know if thats true, I mean does Albania really have a commercial on CNN and if there a way to find it somewhere?!

Thanks ju kofte!

I watch CNN all day long and I have never seen it. I hardly think there was a commercial on Albania cause that would have been on the news here.

[SkaNdErBeG]

An albanian buddy of mine saw a documentary about albania on travelchannel though.... I don't wach a lot of tv, so I have missed it every time... And where I live in Norway: last summer there were an article in the biggest newspaper about Albania. The title was "Albania - Europas uslepne diamant" - it means "Albania - Europes ungrind diamond"

[thebackdoorman]

Guess what New York times budget destination of the year (2007) is?
Southern Albania.

[Ardi_]

there is a lot of good publicity in the world right now but not nearly enough. still most people dont know what or where albania is. surprisingly though when i tell people i'm from albania they automatically bring up the nice beaches so there is some knowledge.

[TeToVaRi]

But for such a small country Albania is pretty well known. If you tell an american you live in Denmark, they ask if its in Sweden. Even though its not all good publicity, it's better than no publicity.

[Te dhjefsha SSC]

well some people are just ignorant tetovar lol, some girl in my high school (11th grade i think or 10th 3 years ago) thought the capital of China was Japan. And to think about this, both are big countries and pretty influential to the world.

[IlliricumSacrum]

Originally Posted by Ardi_

there is a lot of good publicity in the world right now but not nearly enough. still most people dont know what or where albania is. surprisingly though when i tell people i'm from albania they automatically bring up the nice beaches so there is some knowledge.

For some reason I think this will get back to us like a boomerang and I mean it in a bad way. We still have a very poor tourism infrastructures. Hotels are very expensive and those that are not are crap. The service is very poor almost everywhere. Tirana is very polluted and traffic can be a nightmare. Unless you go straight to the south, you probably will get an infection in the dirty waters of Golem or Durres. Water in Tirana is hardly safe to drink and so on.

So yes some publicity is good but exceed that limit and we will have bad reviews coming.

The place is beautiful and it has a lot of potential but that's it for most parts of Albania. There are great archaeological sites, great beaches in the south and so on. There are electricity, water and pollution problems and the service is not good. Those kill mass tourism. If we want to move from having just patriotic tourism, thus Kosovo and Macedonia Albanians coming here, we need to have a proper strategy in place and good mechanisms to implement it in order to succeed. If Albania cannot make it to be a good place for Albanians to live in then probably it won't make it as a great destination for tourists to visit.

[SkaNdErBeG]

For some reason I think this will get back to us like a boomerang and I mean it in a bad way. We still have a very poor tourism infrastructures. Hotels are very expensive and those that are not are crap. The service is very poor almost everywhere.

It could come back to us as a boomerang, I agree, if Albania exegarates itself
in future commercial-strategies, without being what it is. But remember that Albania is always referred to as a good "low budget destination", and these people who always searches for the cheapest destinations aren't that classy. They just want to get tanned, meet some interesting people, eat some good food, relax, party etc... Many young people don't actually care about fancy hotels and all that - they just want to party, so they rent apartments...
And I disagree with you that service is bad everywhere,actually very proffesional in some places: it all depends on how you want to eat, and how much money you want to spend. The bigger wallet - the better quality of service and food - its like this everywhere. I have been to Albania twice, and the service compared to like for example Alanya,Turkey: Albania beats it easy.. People in Alanya acted like monkeys, food tasted shit everywhere no matter the price, everyone tried to hostle you: some motherfu*ker sold me 2 fake and improvised perfumes for 60 Euro.. Imagine this - and all this happends in a socalled "developed turism destination"... Let me tell you: only the roads were better then in albania, everything else was crap in Alanya, and the holiday weren't nice...

Tirana is very polluted and traffic can be a nightmare. Unless you go straight to the south, you probably will get an infection in the dirty waters of Golem or Durres.

Every tourism review of Albania i heard or read about - is about the south: This is standard: Butrint, Saranda, Dhermi beach, Himare, Gjirokaster...

Water in Tirana is hardly safe to drink and so on.

In almost every tourist destination, tourists always buy water in bottles. Water is not drinkable in Stuttgart either, not in turkey either, not in spain etc....

So yes some publicity is good but exceed that limit and we will have bad reviews coming.

Those who wrote the reviews are not lying. They all are journalists specialised in tourism reviews. They have visited those places themselves, and they tell about their impressions. Not everything is good, they seem to be honest. Thats why they dont recommend other areas then the south. In the mean time, middle albania - will have time to develop more...

The place is beautiful and it has a lot of potential but that's it for most parts of Albania. There are great archaeological sites, great beaches in the south and so on. There are electricity, water and pollution problems and the service is not good. Those kill mass tourism. If we want to move from having just patriotic tourism, thus Kosovo and Macedonia Albanians coming here, we need to have a proper strategy in place and good mechanisms to implement it in order to succeed.

Again, the situation in albania is much more than acceptable for low budget tourism. 24/7 electriciy in tourism cities. It just needs to focuse on electricity, roads, airport, ports - wich all is actually developing. Mass tourism wil come, when big companies builds large hotel resorts there, and advertises it, and "charter tours" is made - this has begun. The reason why albania doesnt have mass tourism now is because of the goverment and ministry of tourism laim work. They have done very little to stimulate arranged organised trips (when foreigners come, many want to have everything organized: from breakfast to bus trips to for example butrint etc. ), establish offices to provide help for the tourists and companies etc. etc.

If Albania cannot make it to be a good place for Albanians to live in then probably it won't make it as a great destination for tourists to visit.

For countries with tourism potential, tourism development goes hand in hand with economical growth. This could make Albania a better place for the albanians living there much more quicker, rather then waiting 30 years for it to develop first. Also its usually poor countries who use to be popular tourist destinations: jamaica, spain, and also our very near neighbour greece were very poor before. Spain was one of the poorest countries in europe, but developed with the tourism sector as a motor.. Thailand is very poor.

When all the infrastructure projects are well-developed: power, roads, ports, airports, water, pollution - then albania wont any longer be any "low budget destination". Then it will be much more attractive for richer people, and very big companies.
Sarandas potential is compared to the french riviera by a norwegian newspaper, and note that it is not compared to montenegro, greece, spain etc. This potential could be destroyed, if not Saranda makes a kind of masterplan soon - and plans every single detail in the city: from fascade on every freakin building, to the beaches wich can also be "fixed" artificially for those beaches that needs it, filling it with stones or sand. This is what they did in large parts of spain, and this is what durres and other beaches wich aren't as nice as south could do.

We have all the potential that is possible to succeed. Remember 15 years of "democracy" and capitalism - are not that much. Most foreigners actually gets impressed, because they expect worse. Something must be done to the image of Albania. "Albania - Europes best kept secret" - is the best slogan i have heard till now...

[IlliricumSacrum]

Skanderbeg, I would love to have your enthusiasm but it all comes down to a simple question: Can we even compare ourselves with the tourism infrastructure of Montenegro or Croatia?

[SkaNdErBeG]

No certainly not Croatia - but Croatia is no longer a "low budget destination"... People with bigger wallets go there now also, with yachts etc... Montenegro has some very nice places. And the only reason why Montenegro and Croatia is more developed in the tourism sector: is because Croatia and Montenegro already was top destinations in Europe (even before Greece) during Yugo times. Now they are just working hard to get back where they were 20 years ago. At that time Albania was isolated, and the word "tourism" didn't even exsist. But Albania can without doubt attract more tourists than them in the future (or as much as Croatia).. And not all roads for example are good in montenegro - some are very dangerous.. I know of a couple of accidents that roads were so bad that busses fell down from a clip, and many people died...
I also heard it in an albanian debate about tourism development on Top Channel, that Albania has most monuments in the whole Europe (im not sure if it had most based on its size, or if it was as a single country though).

The reason why I am 100 % Albania will be one of the most popular destinations is this: because it stands out in the crowd of other countries, thus the slogan "Albania - Europes best hidden secret". This is why tourism infrastructure will develop fast in Albania (if the politicians work harder. They are so fu*kin stupid. They should arrange many and big conferences around the world all the time - presenting Albania and its uniqeness for private foreign investors) :

- Unique, complicated and antique history
- nice beaches (which many have)
- dramatic nature - with all kinds of seasons.
- some of the most beatiful mountain scenerys in Europe.
- potential for ski-resorts
- potential for "history and culture" tourism
- potential for nature-tourism that like to explore unexplored land
- many rare animal species
- many rare plant species
- many historical monuments and towns
- very friendly people. Albanians have reputation for being extremely friendly and warm towards guests.
- potential for extreme sports
- the economy is developing fast. I saw on the news yesterday when Albania was granted 380 million euro for developing education and healthcare. i don't remember her name, but that woman that was in charge for Albania said she expects 6 % GDP growth this year(even though the locals don't see it)
- has many museums (much more than what is normal for its size), and many more will open
- As Tirana is developing - it will become a unique capital/metropolis in Europe, because it isn't a copy of anything else anyother place. It style and architecture (for the future mainly) can make Tirana a sort of art and design - capital. And here is the potential for tourism in all months of the year no matter of it is summer. Many tourists would rather visit cities and capitals, rather than getting tanned on a beach.

and there many more reasons..So don't worry, tourists will love Albania, as almost every possible kind of tourism has potential in Albania BTW: i heard that Behgjet Pacolli is going to invest in northern Albania.

Most of the tourism in the most countries, are focused on beaches, and summer vacations. Albania offers much more than this..

[Ardi_]

there is seriously some amazing scenery in tropoja that not even albanians have seen. i can't explain it to you guys but once the highway is complete there you have to go and see it yourself.

as to your point about tirana (that'll take two decades at least). we should focus our historical renovations first on cities that outshine the others such as shkodra, gjirokastra and berat.

[Refugjati]

there is seriously some amazing scenery in tropoja

It's true, there is potential in southern Albania but the infrastructure is really poor...if you don't already know this... tourists are not into constant blackouts and they generally like to have running water. There are some universal standards that albania has to have in order to expand tourism.

Also some of albania's most beutiful beaches are being destroyed by ugly ILEGAL CONSTRUCTION...and there has been no innitiative to put a stop to it.

If they don't put a stop to it...the beaches in the south wil turn into Durres/Golem

[BvizioN]

Originally Posted by Refugjati

Just out of curiosity,what was funny about that coment?You don't agree that Tropoja has some amazing scenery ?

[SkaNdErBeG]

....

[SkaNdErBeG]

Originally Posted by Ardi_

there is seriously some amazing scenery in tropoja that not even albanians have seen. i can't explain it to you guys but once the highway is complete there you have to go and see it yourself.

as to your point about tirana (that'll take two decades at least). we should focus our historical renovations first on cities that outshine the others such as shkodra, gjirokastra and berat.

Totally agree with you Ardi. Tirana will take long time to fully develop as we vision it.
Shkodra, Berati, Kruja, Gjirokastra and Durresi and Vlora: these cities should after my opinion have a special status in the areas wich are of historic significance. Not only to preserve our own history, but this could be big tourism machines as well. To become so: Total-makeovers of the cities has to be done - in the buildings orignial architecture style. Also they should have such regulative plans: that allow new buildings to be built - only with accordance to the old and historic architecture in the respective cities(with the exception of Durres in some areas). New "old" buildings is pretty nice, this is being done a lot of places in Germany. Even the streets should look "old", but of course upgraded and fancy-looking. We don't need concrete and glass buildings everywhere in Albania: that would be like stealing its "uniqeness", because if Albania wants to stand out in the crowd they have to be special, and dont have the same concrete apartments blocks as everywhere else.. Inovative design and highrises should be focused in Tirana, as it doesnt have any big historical significance. But it will create its own unique look - that no other european city has. This is my opinion.

The renovation plan is on the way for Shkodra though. For Gjirokaster i don't know, but if not something is done quickly, some buildings will collapse very soon. Also a masterplan for Saranda is on its way.. So there is reason for optimism, but the goverment MUST TRY HARDER... Damn lol...

Durres is destroyed: as one of Europes oldest harbour-cities - im very angry that it has turned out to be like it is today...But they still have to do something about it