The view of feces that flooded the coast of Ksamil and the stains of blood of the Russian girl offshore showed once more what level our country is in, also in a vital sector for the economy, such as tourism, that struggles to develop somehow.

In the last 24 hours, the French television France 2 transmitted a wonderful reportage about Albania, calling it the Pearl of the Balkans.   

“There is a country still ignored by the tourists, a hidden paradise in front of Italy, sandwiched between Greece and Montenegro: Albania. Cristal-clear waters, mountainous landscapes, preserved nature… Albania, which was distanced from the world due to the communist dictatorship, is attracting more and more tourists through a strong argument: cheap prices. Away from the massive tourism and modern cities, you may dive deep in the heart of the so-called the Pearl of the Balkans”, the reportage said about the touristic Albania.

All that happens with the Albanian tourism, from the arrival of pluralism till today, looks like an absurd theatre: Mother Nature, the foreigners and their media give it, we, the hosts, the beneficiaries, do not want it…

Edi Rama promised “wonders” for tourism four years ago. He said he would reduce the robbing VAT, would demolish the constructions with and without permits that had degraded the coastline, would guarantee, at least for the summer months, power and tap water 24/7, would clean the garbage and super controls on the food…

Here we are at the beginning of his second mandate and besides cutting the tax in the last year of the first mandate, the situation is the same, if not worse than before.

In spite of this total failure of the “Renaissance”, paradoxically the touristic Albania has been in the focus of the foreign media as never before. Albanian beaches are being compared to the Caribbean ones; the natural diversity the country offers is raised sky-high: seas, lakes, rivers, mountains… a paradise for adventures full of adrenaline. And, the cherry on top: praises to the limit of mythicizing for the locals hospitality, tasty and, in particular, cheap foods.

As a consequence, at least for this year, INSTAT has reported a duplication of the tourists’ number for the first half of the year.

The number of the foreign citizens that have chosen Albania as the destination of their vacations is 561 thousand, while the season hasn’t reached its peak yet, compared to 229 thousand for the first half of 2016.

The foreign tourists are coming and giving to the Albanian tourism what it deserves, as far as the nature beauty and traditional hospitality is concerned.

By the other hand, the government of the slogan “making the state” is not moving, it’s sleeping and here we are, completely uncovered, unprepared and ashamed in front of such a flux of foreign tourists. Once they come here they really find what they’ve been told by the world media: wonderful and various nature; good and cheap food, and also the Albanians that smile from ear to ear and say “bujrum, bujrum” every minute.

The other side shows an Albania that no reportage can embellish: The one of the lack of management of waste; of the lack of 24-hours tap water; of the terrorizing power interruption; of polluted waters that run to the sea; of the lack of transport of European standards. And like all this wasn’t enough, almost all the touristic areas (like they do it on purpose) turn into construction sites right in the middle of the season!

Putting the army of a NATO member to clean the garbage in the seaside is really an “exotic” ideal finding of our eccentric Prime Minister to amaze the foreign tourists.

We all know people may drown and accidents may occur in any country, but here one has the chance to face actual deadly “adventures” that would take your adrenaline to the limit. The lifeguards do not exist anywhere, so get ready kids or old, to face any incident by yourself. DOA races of water bikes or speedboats only a few meters offshore could be experienced only in the Pearl of the Balkans. Where one can find the mountain, the crystal-clear sea, world’s cheapest food and most of all the locaks that never stop saying “bujrum, bujrum, welcome, welcome”.

SYRI.net