Tourism in Albania: Competing in the Mediterranean Region

ABSTRACT

Tourism as an economic activity in Albania, despite some of the best natural and cultural resources in the region, has never had the opportunity to develop in the modern era of mass travel. Albania's tourism potential was recognised early but post war conditions did not permit development of infrastructure or market awareness in the same way as occurred elsewhere in the region, notably in Greece and Yugoslavia. Existing under self-imposed exile from the mainstream of European economic and political development until the early 1990s, the Albanian model under socialism selected and constrained both the number and activities of foreign visitors to the country as a matter of ideological policy. This paper examines the development of Albanian tourism policy since 1990 and explores the direction that the country can take in order to compete effectievly wit hother southern European destinations.

Keywords:

• Tourism development
• Albania
• Reconstruction
• Mediterranean region