mania<\/em>.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s something from the travel journalism phrasebook: the more a\u00a0destination is referred to as a\u00a0totally different place, the more of a\u00a0holiday hotspot it\u2019s becoming. Case in point? The New Croatia, the Maldives of Europe, the Caribbean of Europe, the Next Greece \u2013 also known as Albania \u2013 is enjoying a\u00a0mega tourism boost right now.<\/p>\n
Even if you haven\u2019t actually been to Albania recently, you\u2019ve probably seen the sights online. For us scrollers, The Land of The Eagle has been spread across our feeds recently; everyone, it seems, has been sunbathing on its sandy beaches, dipping into its pristine waters and dancing at its festivals.
\nLike hungover tourists in the hotel lobby come Sunday morning, statistically, this just about checks out. From 2010 to 2019, the number of tourists heading to Albania each year tripled to a\u00a0peak of 3.3 million, with a\u00a0hefty 120,000 of these international visitors coming from the UK; many, though, predict that figure will soon be in the millions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not always been like this. For decades, Albania all-but banned, well, everyone. The most isolated country in Eastern Europe, the Balkan nation didn\u2019t open its doors until the late \u200b\u201880s, existing as a\u00a0communist state closed-off to the rest of the world. When its Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha died in 1985, tourists started to trickle in, but it was hardly speedy boarding \u2013 by 1989 only 10,000 people across the globe were heading to Albania each year. To put that it into perspective, more people cram into Ally Pally every single Friday night.<\/p>\n
Arrivals began to stack up in the late nineties and early noughties, when the European tourism industry started to catch on to Albania\u2019s potential to compete in the Mediterranean\u2019s ongoing Sunbed Wars. Although the country still faced power cuts, undrinkable water and sewage issues, by 2003, the government\u2019s ministry of tourism was bulldozing buildings to beautify beaches and rebrand the nation; seven years later, it was Lonely Planet\u2019s best place to visit.<\/p>\n
Even as late as 2017, though, there was just one single, spenny British Airways journey from Gatwick to Tirana. Now, there are over ten routes; the cheapest comes courtesy of low-flying budget airline WizzAir, getting you there in three hours for just \u00a327 each way \u2013 that\u2019s \u00a32 per 100\u00a0miles. \u200b\u201cWe have seen significant growth in the number of passengers choosing Albania as their holiday destination,\u201d Zsuzsa Trubek, Wizz Air Corporate Communications Manager, tells THE FACE. \u200b\u201cPassenger numbers are up 27 per cent for the first half of the year in 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.\u201d To meet demand, they\u2019ve increased capacity to run 19 flights per week.
\nOf course, Albania is still a\u00a0relatively alternative destination. Fewer than 20 flights per week isn\u2019t exactly a\u00a0huge operation, and the number of Brits heading to Greece each year is almost 40 times higher. But there\u2019s real belief that this is going to keep taking off, a\u00a0steely confidence that\u2019s led to the likes of RyanAir getting on board, investment from across the globe and an under-construction $125m airport in Albania\u2019s old capital, Vlora, to be opened by April 2024.<\/p>\n
Plus, considering that barely anyone outside of Albania knew anything at all about the country until twenty-or-so years ago, its ascent is dizzying. And this new interest is partly down to an almost universally-disliked tourist: the young Brit abroad.<\/p>\n
See, while Amsterdam is weeding out UK stoners, Italians are growing increasingly tired of us and Lanzarote is lamenting our bad behavior, Albania is welcoming us with open arms, promising the full, all-inclusive package: sun, sexy beaches and auspicious parties, plus (Londoners look away) a\u00a0pint of good beer for 200 Lek: that\u2019s just \u00a31.50.<\/p>\n
For many, the main attraction is its festivals, all of which are worth raving about. Kala, a\u00a0boutique festival launched in 2018 by Mainstage Festivals and set on the Albanian Riviera, has quickly won the hearts of punters and made them ache for days after, a\u00a0paradise of deep house and sun-dappled beaches. Mainstage also runs ION, a\u00a0seven-dayer set in the same location that mixes music and wellbeing, and there\u2019s another week-long, all-nighter further up the coast courtesy of UNUM.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we can\u2019t take full credit for the wider increase in tourism, we feel that our music festivals have helped put Albania on the map for a\u00a0great number of young people who hadn\u2019t heard of it before,\u201d says Juan J. Lopez, Marketing Director at Mainstage, pointing to Kala\u2019s blissful beachside stages and incredible scenery. \u200b\u201cThe setting in Dh\u00ebrmi is perfect because most hotels are walking distance from the stages.\u201d The big bonus? As Lopez notes, for the price of a\u00a0camping festival in the UK you can spend a\u00a0full week in a\u00a0hotel in Albania, which means no sleepless nights in tents, next to mates whose eyes are rolling into the back of their head.<\/p>\n
Antonia and Georgie, both 28, went to Kala last month. \u200b\u201cClearly Dh\u00ebrmi was the place to go. Even local Albanian people were going there for their holidays \u2013 it was a\u00a0really exciting place to be,\u201d Georgie says. \u200b\u201cIt was one of the first festivals we\u2019ve been to where everyone was just there for good music and good vibes, everyone had good energy, and it was lovely to be in a\u00a0hotel not a\u00a0tent,\u201d Antonia adds. \u200b\u201cAnd of course, there was the scenery \u2013 mountains, beautiful beaches, the canyon at Gjipe \u2013 ecstasy for your eyeballs.\u201d<\/p>\n
This picturesque landscape is, of course, perfect for pretty-as-a-postcard Instagram posts. For those not bothered about partying, it\u2019s the vistas that encourage them to visit, especially since they\u2019re relatively affordable. \u200b\u201cWhen it comes to travel, there are few mysteries left in Europe. Albania is the last short-haul European sunspot that hasn\u2019t become a\u00a0beach-holiday stalwart and ruined by mass tourism,\u201d Lopez says. \u200b\u201cIt offers stunning Mediterranean scenery, gorgeous turquoise waters, unspoiled beaches, excellent food and very affordable prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bardha Krasniqi, an Albanian-born photographer who moved to the UK as a\u00a0child, goes back regularly and has also noticed the rise in tourism. \u200b\u201cI went in June and when I\u00a0was out there, I\u00a0noticed there were more tourists than usual; you\u2019d never see anyone in June really,\u201d she says. \u200b\u201cPeople really want to see something different and explore; it\u2019s in the South of Europe so it\u2019s like another Greece. \u200b\u201cIt\u2019s something new and people didn\u2019t know it existed. There\u2019s so much variety of nature, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
This idyllic vision has been spread thanks to social media. After all, most of us now head to TikTok over Thomas Cook for travel tips, scrolling through an ever-updating glossy catalogue of the world\u2019s best beauty spots. If a\u00a0country can go viral, then Albania did last summer \u2013 especially beach resort Ksamil \u2013 and the afterglow isn\u2019t fading.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cI know August is going to be crazy and that\u2019s because of TikTok \u2013 especially last year because everyone was reposting stuff,\u201d Krasniqi says. \u200b\u201cEven this year friends have been messaging me like, \u200b\u2018I didn\u2019t know Albania looked like this\u2019, because the south is so beautiful,\u201d she continues. When she went to southern Albania for the first-time last month, she met two British girls at the airport and asked them how they found out about it. \u200b\u201cThey said TikTok \u2013 it\u2019s clearly TikTok that\u2019s blowing Albania up.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a\u00a0Dua Lipa Effect at play. Alongside the likes of Rita Ora and Bebe Rexha, Dua, who was born in Albania, has become a\u00a0poster girl for the country. Late last year, she became a\u00a0citizen and even finished her Future Nostalgia world tour in Tirana.<\/p>\n
Beyond the festivals, celebrities and luxury hotels, though, there is a\u00a0flip side to the freshly-exchanged coin. While the likes of Tirana and Dh\u00ebrmi have quickly become well-established tourist hotspots, they\u2019re not representative of the country as a\u00a0whole. Albania is classed as a\u00a0middle-income country and is a\u00a0decent way out of the top 100 GDPs in the world, meaning that much of its rural, off-the-beaten-track areas have poor infrastructure and locals face harsh economic situations, while other areas are still pretty much unknown to the outside world.<\/p>\n
Becky and Elena, both 24 and back from Albania last week, saw this firsthand. \u200b\u201cWe didn\u2019t do our research at all and ended up in a\u00a0village an hour from Tirana and a\u00a0forty-minute drive from a\u00a0big shop. We saw the least touristy side, literally by the countryside,\u201d Becky explains. \u200b\u201cWhen we arrived, at like 1am, it felt like GTA,\u201d says Elena. \u200b\u201cWe were driving past girls in bikinis dancing on balconies, people diving from the gates into the pool and everything was lit up like My Super Sweet Sixteen on crack.\u201d They ended up in what locals call the \u200b\u201cparty villas\u201d \u2013 rent-a-night gaffs out in the sticks for parties classed as too loud by the Tirana police.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cThe cost of stuff was huge in the smaller shops, like \u00a37 for a\u00a0bottle of body wash. Some shops would look like a\u00a0charity shop that hadn\u2019t been touched for 10\u00a0years, they were really disheveled,\u201d Elena says. Local beaches, meanwhile, looked like \u200b\u201cadverts for recycling\u201d and the villages were a\u00a0strange mix of cake-topper houses, built-up areas, mounds of rubbish, horses-and-carts and gorgeous wineries.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a\u00a0reminder that not every part of Albania is necessarily paradise for those who live there. As expected, those involved in the industry are keen to emphasize the huge role that tourism plays in the local economy. Kala, for instance, works with 250 local businesses, creates 200 jobs each year and has helped double the tourist season. And they try to make sure locals aren\u2019t left out of the fun. \u200b\u201cEvery year we reserve a\u00a0portion of the tickets for residents of Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia who are able to buy them at a\u00a0discounted price,\u201d Lopez says.<\/p>\n
But with an average wage of just $500 per month, Albanian citizens still risk being priced out. \u200b\u201cIt\u2019s developing as a\u00a0country and it\u2019s still a\u00a0poor country,\u201d Krasniqi says. \u200b\u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0weird one, it\u2019s a\u00a0very deep conversation; it is changing and developing but the government still steals from it. People are poor out there, it\u2019s not easy to actually live.\u201d There\u2019s also the fear of Albania\u2019s unseen scenery getting ruined. \u200b\u201cI do hope that tourism actually helps it make money and build, but doesn\u2019t take advantage of it or the nature, because it\u2019s like a\u00a0virgin place, everything is so pure and beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Equally, Albanians are facing issues away from home. The Tory Party\u2019s derogatory approach to Albanian migrants, propelled by Suella Braverman\u2019s sinister politicking, has fostered new forms of xenophobia. The issue is complex; it\u2019s true that the Albanian mafia are a\u00a0key player in the UK drugs market. But many of those arriving in the UK are trafficked and forced to work for these gangs, rather than by choice.<\/p>\n
As David Neale, an expert in Albanian migration, has previously noted, Albania isn\u2019t necessarily a\u00a0safe country. A \u200b\u201ccommon cause of Albanian boys and men fleeing their country is blood feud,\u201d he wrote in The Guardian, explaining that many face the threat of revenge attacks from other families that last for generations. They are of course victims themselves, increasingly villainized by the government and the right-wing press \u2013 Albanian kids are even being bullied in schools. \u200b\u201cWhen you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts,\u201d Dua Lipa told The Sunday Times last month. \u200b\u201cIt\u2019s shortsighted and small-minded, but it\u2019s the way a\u00a0lot of people think.\u201d
\nThis contrast between tourism and Toryism is uneasy. While many of us have the time of our lives on holiday in Albania, many of its locals are having a\u00a0tough time at home and face xenophobic attitudes coming from overseas, namely us, the UK.<\/p>\n
But everyone who\u2019s actually gone to Albania can\u2019t say enough good things about its people. \u200b\u201cUnfortunately, most people don\u2019t know much about Albania and when they do it is usually just negative stereotypes,\u201d Lopez says. \u200b\u201cThis plays to our advantage, though, as those adventurous enough to defy those stereotypes and come all the way to Albania are greatly surprised when they find that all those preconceptions couldn\u2019t be further from reality. They won\u2019t hesitate to invite you to their house to drink raki, even if they can\u2019t speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becky and Elena experienced this first hand. \u200b\u201cEveryone was so nice because they weren\u2019t used to tourists and they were so accommodating,\u201d Becky says. A\u00a0winery offered them free food, a\u00a0local invited them in for raki, another gave them a\u00a0free boat trip and a\u00a0taxi driver even stopped off to buy baklava for them.<\/p>\n
Antonia and Georgie agree. \u200b\u201cWe went with a\u00a0lot of preconceptions because our family and friends were a\u00a0bit unsure, but it was really fun. The people were really kind and couldn\u2019t do enough for you,\u201d Antonia says. One bartender ran around to find vodka for them, while a\u00a0newsagent owner gave them an ice bucket because he felt the beers he sold them weren\u2019t cold enough.<\/p>\n
For Krasniqi, the holidaymakers of Summer 2023 will make-or-break Albania\u2019s tourism industry. \u200b\u201cThis year will define how people treat it and respect it,\u201d she says, concerned that it could become another Ibiza, but hopeful of the positive impact visitors could have. As with any emerging hotspot, there is a risk that it gets burnt by tourism, a sandtimer counting down towards cultural erosion. Equally, though, if the new income from tourism trickles into the local economy, it could lead to a positive outcome for all.<\/p>\n
Either way, it\u2019s pretty clear that Albmania<\/em> will continue to spread across the UK, as extra infrastructure and a\u00a0new wave of events sweeten the already tempting deal. Soon, it will reach the next chapter of the phrasebook \u2013 no longer referred to as The New Croatia, the Maldives of Europe, the Caribbean of Europe, the Next Greece, but simply Albania.<\/p>\nLink to the original article on The Face.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Albania has become a refuge for British youth, offering festivals like \u201cKala\u201d and ION, affordable accommodations, and stunning beaches. This is what the English magazine \u201cThe Face\u201d writes in an article dedicated to tourism in Albania, which was shared on social media by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Full article written by Kyle MacNeill below: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":57350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,150,243,151,627,1999,333,1866,910],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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