The Swiss-Albanian, Saimir Shala, is probably one of the best experts on Albania in this country and founded the company \u201cAlbanien Reisen\u201d in 2017. \u201cThe demand last year was very high,\u201d he said when asked by Travelnews, \u201cand that will continue this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
We asked him what the reasons are for a trip to Albania and listened with fascination to Shala\u2019s five-minute description. This does indeed arouse a great desire to travel: \u201cAlbania is a little smaller than Switzerland, and within this area you have everything; in the north, mountains up to 2,700 meters in altitude, very good for hiking and enjoying the landscape. Then there is 400 kilometers of coastline with beaches that are both sandy and pebbly \u2013 excellent for swimming. Hiking along the coast is also possible. Albania also offers a rich culture, for example with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Berat and Gjirokastra \u2013 plus very friendly people and good food. And until recently, Albania has also been a very inexpensive country to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swiss now offers four direct flights a week from Zurich to Tirana. From Tirana, Saimir Shala first recommends a rental car round trip to the north and the interior of the country and finally to the coast to reflect on the trip. This combination is the most popular and is very well received by Swiss tourists.<\/p>\n A call to the next specialist, Meersicht Travel & Lifestyle, also encourages people to book Albania. Managing Director Marco Wipfli says: \u201cAfter traveling to 100 countries, I have to say that Albania is one of the most exciting travel destinations \u2013 the culture, people and nature fascinate me. Here, a river is still a river, unstraightened as it was 1000 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin Fehrlin, Managing Director of hiking specialist Imbach Reisen, also sees Albania as a destination with great potential: \u201cAlbania is still struggling with certain prejudices and is only on the radar of a few customers as a travel destination, but those who have been there have returned enthusiastically. They particularly appreciate the diverse landscape, the hospitality and the authentic experiences away from the tourist crowds.\u201d<\/p>\n And Esther Portmann, Deputy Managing Director of Imbach Reisen, describes her fascination for Albania in an article in Wandermagazin Schweiz. \u201cI would never have expected such a varied landscape: High mountains, beautiful beaches with turquoise blue water along the Adriatic Sea, with picturesque river valleys and lakes in between.\u201d She is equally impressed by the capital Tirana: \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable how much we get to see in such a short time. The cityscape is characterized by a mixture of communist architecture, modern buildings and colorful facades. There are many galleries, museums and lively districts with bars and restaurants, with green spaces in between.\u201d<\/p>\n The challenges are great<\/strong><\/p>\n In spite of the obvious advantages, Albania\u2019s beauty and the sharp rise in visitor numbers also pose a major challenge for the destination. Marco Wipfli says: \u201cWe are open and honest with our customers; Albania is not easy. The hardware is great, the number of hotels is growing and the infrastructure is good, service is lacking; Albania has a major problem with manpower as many good people have emigrated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlbania has no hotel and tourism schools; people have traveled little and don\u2019t know exactly what tourists want.\u201d At the same time, prices are rising. Wipfli and his Meersicht team will now spend three days at the end of March inspecting the coasts and the hotels again in order to be up to date with the latest developments in the sale of beach vacation hotels. The quality of service at the family-run boutique hotels in the interior of the country is usually good.<\/p>\n Saimir Shala also addresses the downsides directly: \u201cThe rapid, almost unhealthy growth brings with it a lot of construction noise, especially in the low season, with hotels, new roads and tunnels being built and entire villages being renovated. In addition, some beaches are overcrowded in the high season due to the Instagram effect.\u201d In the south of Albania, it can take two hours to drive the last five kilometers to the beach due to traffic jams.<\/p>\n Since tourism accounts for a quarter of the country\u2019s income, the government is increasingly betting on tourism and is now consistently demanding overnight taxes and prices have recently risen significantly, sometimes to a level similar to that in Croatia, \u201cbut the service is not yet where it should be,\u201d he added<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gjirokastra.jpg\")
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