Tourist Albania and its endless possibilities for exploration, promoted by young people with ideas and entrepreneurial courage, is what “Albania Adventure”, a specialized and licensed operator in the organization of tours with guides (Trekking, Hiking, Kayak, Diving, Ski mountaineering, Off Road), as well as outdoor sports and extreme adventures, offers.
A limited liability company consisting of a group of young people, “Albania Adventure” has been operating in adventure tourism since 2014. Out of a total of 40 tour guides of a unique specialty, this operator has six tour guides certified in this category. Among them there is also a woman who is the administrator of the company.
Accompanied by the Minister of Economy Milva Ekonomi, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited today the offices of this operator and had a conversation with the young employees.
Vladimir Dedndreaj, the founder of this business and a lover of extreme sports, explained how the operator works, the increased interest of foreign tourists to Albania. He also added that the reduction of VAT for tourism from 20% to 6% means a lot for his business. “We work mainly through the websites. People have a look on the internet, and then they call and ask us about what price we can offer them. Thanks to the tax cut, hotels can now offer cheaper prices.”
The Prime Minister explained that VAT cut from the standard 20% to 6% for the hospitality sector will encourage its formalization, and will make Albanian tourism more competitive in fierce regional competition to attract tourists. “We couldn’t compete because VAT in the whole region was 10%, and we had it 20%. 20% for every place, for every client, for every bed, this state tax was too much and it increased informality. They asked for 10%, and we lowered it to 6%.
6% is the lowest in the region, and it will be a major source to increase the number of tourists, but also to formalize the hotels because it will be much easier for them to declare their revenues; they won’t rig them.”
For Vladimir, the best barometer that measures the growing interest of tourists is the agenda of activities which is overflowing this year. “Our agenda is full this year, contrary to the previous years”, he said.
The Ministry of Economy has provided numerous facilitations to this business because they are already in the process for the certification of guides, which is necessary for them to function as a high-quality operator and to attract more tourists. “In the beginning there was a distinction in the NBC in terms of the registration between the tour operator and the agency. The guides have been certified, and hotels are being standardized. These are the 3 major processes Albania is going through now. Then we decided on this idea of awarding points in a span of time of 2 year, by the Ministry of Education of Sport and the Ministry of Social Issues and Youth. Now there’s a common guideline on how to get the points to be the most professional guide in the future. It is worth mentioning that the number of tourists in Albania this year has had a real boom, 4 million and 731 thousand tourists, more than 15% compared to the previous year”, minister Ekonomi explained.
The Urban Renaissance has played its important role in terms of tourist attractions providing areas of historical significance which until yesterday were left in total oblivion and were almost non-existent.
“Needless to say that the intervention made to protect and restore little by little all these parks, whether natural or archaeological, has been very helpful. For instance, we will open Apollonia on April 24. Its restoration has cost approximately 750 thousand Euros. Nobody did anything for it in 30 years. Not it is something spectacular. The number of visitors increased by 17.5% in 2016 compared to 2015, which is no small thing. They are visitors who consume, sleep and spend their time in these places which are all related to the program of Urban Renaissance.”
Focusing on mountain tourism, a gem which the Albanian nature has to offer, the Prime Minister noted that the potential to increase revenue from tourism is very big. “Everything we have done with the river of Valbone, with the changes in Tropoje which, from a lost city, is becoming in a welcoming city, all this has increased the number of investors who spend their weekends in Valbone. The construction process of hostels has started intensively, and houses also are being transformed in hostels. The same is happening in Malesi e Madhe, from upper Tamare to Vermosh. I believe Theth will have a huge impact. Annual income of last year was 1 billion and 200-something million only from tourists. We have the potential to go to 5 billion annually”, the Prime Minister said.
