Prime Minister Edi Rama at discussion with journalists on sidelines of FITUR trade fair in Madrid on Albania as sustainable tourism destination

***

– Welcome Prime Minister, Minister!

We are honoured to have you with us today at this event, at this very successful FITUR trade fair, as you might have witnessed it for yourselves. As an important partner of the country and for Albania’s tourism development, we are very keen to host this conversation with you and we are very pleased to have you here and to share such a thing with us. I would like to start with the Prime Minister.

Albania, as everyone already knows, is one of the hidden or not so hidden treasures on the Adriatic and a wider region, on the Mediterranean. Prime Minister, how do you see development of your country’s tourism sector now and in the next two or three years?

Prime Minister Edi Rama: First and foremost, thank you so much. I am very honoured to be here. I can openly and undoubtedly state that Melia international hotel chain is one of our most precious partners along this path. It is pretty encouraging to see Melia’s eagerness to promote and spread its brand name throughout the country and, if I am not mistaken, it has already signed ten activity contracts and this fact is really significant to us.

On the other hand, it is equally important to be here, because we have witnessed, last year in particular, a significant growth in the number of Spanish tourists visiting Albania. By the way, as you might have perhaps noticed, I have some back pain problems and yesterday therefore I had to see the physiotherapist, who said: “Two days ago, my girlfriend booked a trip to Albania together with me and her family, and I am now helping you to manage the back pain.” This would have been totally impossible for one to imagine just a few years ago, when, as you already put it, it was an extremely hidden destination. Now it is no longer hidden and a growing number of people are seeking to visit the country. Last year, Tirana airport saw the highest growth in terms of passenger numbers in Europe, according to the Civil Aviation data and, according to the World Tourism Organization data, Albania ranked third globally in terms of tourism sector growth after Qatar and Saudi Arabia. So, third without being a host country of the World Football Championship and without Mecca and as such it is really a great result.

– Focusing on efforts to grow as a tourist destination you are seeking to become a sustainable tourism development and this has been clearly stated on the National Tourism Development Strategy, and you are the Minister of Tourism and Environment.

The Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro: It was actually the Prime Minister’s choice to organize and merge tourism and environment in one ministry.

-It is my impression that you represent Europe’s only case in this aspect and this is important to us. Prime Minister, how are you focusing on your country’s sustainable development?

PM Edi Rama: First of all, I would like to say something about Gabriel’s comment, because I saw him somehow like this when he told me that Melia would be the leading group in Albania. It is true, because we are like Thomas the Apostle as we refuse to believe without direct personal experience, without putting a hand on it. Now that we are experiencing and touching it, we are very happy to believe based on evidence and not only on the supposition that something big will happen. This comment was to again congratulate Gabriel and the Melia group as they have been truly fantastic ones.

By the way, I have to say that other Spanish groups approached to us and I am pretty sure that it is no longer a problem for them to imagine and think about investing in Albania, because they have already seen that someone else has done it before them and for our countries, which stand between being hidden and the ambition to reveal themselves, the ones who break the ice are very important. Melia has turned out to be an incredible icebreaker. As far as sustainability is concerned, it has been a big challenge. We have to be very cautious about development as we need to balance the present and the future.

-A question for the Prime Minister. What are the guarantees your country offers in terms of safety, security or movement within the country, since you said that Albania is home to a landscape of mountains, rivers and so on and so forth. What is the image you would send to those who wish to visit or the investors in your country?

Prime Minister Edi Rama: I don’t speak Spanish, yet I think I understood it. Let’s see what I have understood. It is indeed, among other things, a completely different country from the perception that has prevailed for years and years when it comes to security. I will give you just one example. Based on EU statistics, we are the country with the lowest number of burglaries in Europe. The leading country is Great Britain. They attribute this finding to the fact that the Albanians have gone there, but I doubt that.

Secondly, and this is really important, in our country hospitality is a religion. Perhaps very, very few cases which are proof of the rule that is enshrined in the first Albanian Constitution of the Middle Ages, that the house of the Albanian belongs to God and friend, and as long as God has not yet appeared in himself, then the friend is his closest image. For this reason, you should treat your friend as God. This is how you should treat your friend in Albania. So Albania is not only beautiful, but it is also safe. Safety is one of the elements acknowledged by most of the tourists, when asked about Albania, especially tourists coming from Western European cities. When you ask them about Albania, they say they liked the people, the food and found our country very safe. In this regard we are okay and I must say that we still have issues with bureaucracy, yet again bureaucratic procedures are many times faster than the EU, because we are not yet in the EU, but once we get there, I am not convinced that we will be as fast as now.

Gabriel Escarrer Jaume: If I may, Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to complete what you already said. I have visited Albania frequently and twice together with my family. So, do you really think I would ever take my family with me if I were to sense the slightest threat in terms of safety?

PM Edi Rama: I can testify to it. No bodyguards at all!

Gabriel Escarrer Jaume: No, no! We run three hotels in Albania and no security or safety issues of whatsoever have been ever recorded in any of them.

-Thank you so much!