Tourism is one of the best things to happen to Albania in a long time. In the past Albania was isolated from the world and not heard of. Being run by a dictator for so long, the country was run by fear and now that the country is open to the world tourism is benefiting Albania tremendously. Tourism is helping Albania by cleaning the waste management; oil spills soil erosions bringing in money for the country to restore ancient ruins, creating numerous jobs and businesses. Tourism is becoming a major part of this growing country.

Facts about Albania

Official name:

Shqiperia

Location:

South East Europe, off the coast of Adriatic And Ionian Sea, Bordering Montenegro, Serbia and Greece. Balkan area.

Terrain:

70% mountainous, hills, valleys, by the coast plain and flat

Area:

28 748 km

Climate:

Mediterranean climate: warm dry summers cold wet winters

Population:

3, 600, 523

Language:

Albanian

Ethnic Groups:

95% Albanian, 3% Greek, 2% other

Religion:

70% Bektahsi (Type of Muslim, which is less fanatical), 20% Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic

Capital:

Tirana

Government:

Democracy

Prime Minister:

Sali Berisha

GDP per capita:

$ 5 600

Currency:

Lek

How Tourism Affects the Economy

Tourism is relatively new in Albania, and at the moment it is not a hugely reliant on the money it receives from tourism. It is relatively new because of who was in power of the country for so long. Albania was dictated by a man named Enver Hoxha for 46 years. He believed greatly in Marxism and admired and was friends with his ally Stalin of the Soviet Union. He isolated the world from Albania, leaving it unnoticeable and unknown for nearly a half a century. He exploited the people by robbing and executing wealthy landowners and innocent civilians to build industrial factories to profit the money for himself. Enver Hoxha ran the country into the ground by stealing money, executing innocent people, and corruption in the government. In 1992 after years under a socialist party, Enver Hoxha died and the people of Albania took back what was rightfully theirs.

Over the years the country has slowly cleaned up and their economy is on the rise. Their economy is mainly based on agriculture and mining. It ranks in 425.5 million dollar a year. They produce various exports such as textiles, footwear, oil, chromium, tobacco, metals, asphalt, chemicals, hydropower, wheat corn, vegetables, fruit, potatoes, olives, meat and dairy products. Every day however tourism dollars are helping to build hotels, condos, refining the beaches, rebuilding and renewing historical sight and museums.

The economy in Albania is dramatically rising and tourism in a few years will become one of the major industries for their economy. With all the new hotels, museums and publicity they re receiving it is highly predicted that Albania will one day become as popular as Greece and Italy.

How Tourism Affects the Culture

Albanians have always been proud people who have carried themselves with great pride. The western society has not had a major affect on their culture, since they are so traditional and proud of their country. Albanian people are greatly proud of their achievements such as the Illyrians who are the direct descents of the Albanians, Alexsdander the Great, Nane Teresa the saint, Jim and John Belushi the comedians and Gjergj Kastroti. Gjergj Kastroti also known as Skenderbej is an Albanian leader who drove out the Ottoman Empire (the Turks) out of Albania. He is so well known in Albania that the city where he grew up is now dedicated to this amazing man.

Albanians are sociable people that love to drink smoke and party. Their philosophy to life is to work hard during the day and party even harder at night. They are also greatly known as courageous people that can be utterly stubborn at times. Some of the most celebrated events in Albania are Flamour and Bijram. Flamour is the celebration of the independence of Albania which is on the 28 Of November. They celebrate Flamour by dancing, drinking, singing and being patriotic. Flamour is so popular that in major cities in the west have huge parties and rent out lavish rooms like in New York City, Detroit, Chicago and Toronto. Another huge celebration is Bijram which is another word for Ramadan. During Birjam they are forbidden to eat when the sun is out but at night when the sun is gone the food and parties last until the next sunrise.

The people of Albania are truly traditional, that still do traditions from as far as they have inhabited the earth. At an early age they learn that education is very important and with education comes respect. Children who go off to university always finish and are considered extremely lucky. Marriage is also a important element in Albania. Albanians believe that there should be arranged marriages to keep the families well respected and intertwined with each other. When getting married huge celebrations are held and a nuse (bride) is highly respected. Once you married then you stay married. Divorce is frowned upon and once divorced you are looked upon as an outcast. Another tradition they keep highly is the “eye for an eye”. These traditions are highly respected and never looked down on.

Since the boom in tourism in Albania, Albanians feel the need to show off their country, so the money brought in by tourism helps restore the ancient ruins, clean up and restore the museums like the famous museum in Kruja dedicated to Skenderbej, building new hotels and condos, and other tourist attractions. The culture of Albania is strong and proud and Albanians want to show off their lushes, rich country.

How Tourism Affects the Environment

Albania has a very unique land that has been untouched for centuries. It has a diverse environment with glaciers, mountains, beaches, valleys, faunas and is rich with coal and gas. This is a huge factor for tourism in Albania. Since the country has such a diverse landscape it is one of the perfect places for ecotourism. They have begun ecotourism in Albania to educate people on the land and to protect some of the areas of lush's landscape. A good example of ecotourism in Albania is the Shala Mountains located in Shokdra. It is a ten day hike through the foothills of the most beautiful mountain in Albania, where the most spectacular sites can be seen from the peak of the mountain. For adventurous people, mountain climbing is spectacular, because of the easy and difficult mountains in Albania. Natural hot springs as well, has turned out to be very popular for travelers. People forms all over Europe go to Albania to cure their aches and pains in these magical hot springs. A highly renowned hotel spa in Albania the famous Beljon in Fush Kruja.

Thanks to ecotourism, the money from tourism has helped tremendously clean up Albania. Waste and pollution in Albania have been major problems for years now. The waste management in Albania was atrocious for many years, but as tourists begin to travel more the waste has become first priority. Cleaning up the streets has been easier because the money in tourism, that has been invested to add recycling and waste bins around the major cities. Oil spills have also been a huge problem, because of the poor used equipment and lack of inspection. The Adriatic Sea has had numerous spills over the years. The Japan fund and REC have stepped into help clean up the spills and make regulations on machinery. Tourism has really benefited Albania's environment and Albanians now know that to keep their country beautiful and green that they need to pay more attention to what harm they are doing to the country.

Places to Visit in Albania

Tirana

• capital of Albania
• old mosque called Ethem Bej
• Artificial lake and fountain built in the center
• wild nightlife with many swanky cafés and clubs
• parliament buildings
• Architecture of the city

Durres

• Balcony of the Adriatic Sea
• Long coast line
• Condos with spectacular ocean views
• Beach parties with well known Albanian singers during the night

Pogradeci

• Beach city
• Home to the Koran fish
• Cristal clear water
• City on beach with stilts

Kruja

• Home to Skenderbej
• Museum of Skenderbej
• Walk through he foothills
• Famous statue of Skenderbej
• Famous spa called Beljon with natural hot spring
• Famous morning song ritual of the imam in the mosque tower

Berati

• City of a thousand windows
• Home to famous religious mountain where a man jumped off the mountain and lived ( takes 2 hours by foot no cars allowed)
• Home to Onfri museum

Shokdra

• Home to the Shala Mountain
• Rozafa castle
• Home to the foot hills

Tourism has hugely benefited Albania and has made the country a better place. Influencing and showing other countries that a small poor country can slowly rise and become a beautiful prosperous tourist attraction. It has helped the economy, by help making more tourist attraction, helped the culture by restoring museums and ancient ruins, and helped the environment by cleaning up the waste, oil spills and protecting rare areas. Gradually Albania is becoming the country it once was and wants to be and in the near future it will become as popular as some of the other places in Europe.