"Finding a qualified workforce is a problem!" Analysis: The "burden" of tourists, who is serving them?

International promotion in foreign media, but also the effect of social networks have turned Albania into one of the destinations with the fastest growth in tourism. Contracts with guarantees have been increasing and organized groups are diversifying every year, where after the Poles and Czechs already, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Israeli tourists are increasing significantly. The unexpected success seems to have found us unprepared in some directions, adding to the pressure for quick interventions if we want growth to be sustainable.

Tour operators expect that 2025 will mark another record of foreign visitors with an increase in foreign tourists between 10-15%. The challenge remains the road and airport infrastructure to cope with this influx, the skilled workforce in the absence or the operation of the sector without a clear connection with the supporting industries to maximize the benefit of the economy.

The number of foreigners visiting Albania is increasing and this is undoubtedly good news, but at the same time the pressure to keep them is increasing. Trapped in an increasing flow from year to year, Albania seems to be failing to cope in some cases with the demands that a fast-growing tourism brings.

The trend is being seen in several directions, starting first from insufficient infrastructure on the road, the airport or the marina. Second, a shrinking agriculture has shifted the balance to the side of imports. So, we are "feeding" foreigners with their Albanian served products. This significantly reduces the real impact that tourism would have on the economy.

If agriculture and agro-processing were included with a more well-thought-out strategy in the chain of supporting industries, the value that the economy would receive would be higher. Thirdly, foreigners are being served by "foreigners" brought with contracts from other countries, due to the lack of labor in the country.

The first "summer" tourists arrive, contracts with increasing guarantees, groups are diversified

Organized tourism is growing from year to year and in parallel with this, individual tourism has had the same trend. Markets that like Albania remain stable, as new groups continue to be added.

"The first organized tourists have started to come, according to the contracts with guarantees that we have signed. The first are the Poles and then these weeks we expect other groups to come. Golem and Durrës have been consolidated as destinations, because they have organized tourism for more than a decade.

The markets that are coming organized have diversified from year to year, but some are stable. The Spanish market is growing this year, so are the Portuguese. Hungarian and Slovak tourists are also increasing. So are the Israelis, where one of the flight lines is also operating as a charter," said Rrahman Kasa, Chairman of the Albanian Tourist Union.

For Arben Çipa, administrator of "Sipa Tours", this year is also expected to be positive, given the good performance he has had in the first months of the year. April, according to him, was up about 10% compared to April 2024, at least from the impressions received from the structures in the South of the country, specifically in Ksamil and Saranda.

"They are mainly Europeans, but especially French are coming. They are a group that dominates this year for this period. They are relatively young ages, with weekly stays", says Çipa.

Too many tourists, few roads, even fewer airports, increased attention to maritime services

One of the problems raised this season was that of the non-commissioning of Vlora airport. The expectation was that at least in the summer season the operation of charter lines would start and based on this promise, last year a contract with guarantees was signed with accommodation structures in Vlora. But, now, this is not possible.

"It is a very big problem for us not to start flights from Vlora. We signed these contracts considering that we were promised the launch of flights in some conversations last year, when we were told that for charters it would probably be possible to downgrade.

We are already in front of the fact and this has brought us concerns. In more extreme cases, when the agreements are not respected, they can go to court, but we are negotiating with foreign agencies so that at least the reduction of charters this summer will take place in Tirana. It is understood that it is the Albanian tour operators who take over the transport costs", said Mr. Kasa.

But it seems that even diverting flights to Tirana is challenging as Tirana Airport is operating almost at maximum capacity and there are no frequencies available for unforeseen flights. On the other hand, even the road infrastructure, despite investments, cannot cope with the pace of tourism growth in the country.

"I cannot say that roads have not been made, there have been serious investments, but I think that they are not enough to cope with this increase in the flow we have. We expect to go to 14 million tourists this year and this is a significant number and I think Albania does not have the infrastructure to cope with that. Likewise, some very popular destinations are left with an access that leaves you to fail. I am giving as an example the road infrastructure that leads to the Shala River, we have been asking for intervention for years. So is Golemi, which remains hostage to traffic", underlines the head of the Albanian Tourist Union.

Albania at the same time suffers for genuine tourist marinas, something that significantly limits a segment of tourism that is oriented towards the more luxurious one. However, beyond this, the growth of tourism requires increased attention to maritime services to provide safety and standards.

"There should be attention to maritime services. I am talking here about all services where it should be operated in an orderly, normative manner and in accordance with a rigorous framework. The law and control must work for all boats, ships and all watercraft", says Mr. Çipa.

Foreigners are being served by "foreigners", but finding a qualified workforce is a problem

Tourism is clearly oriented towards finding a solution outside Albania's borders regarding the workforce. It is about filling positions that do not require any special qualifications.

"We have found a solution. We are bringing foreigners from third countries starting from Africa, countries like Nepal, the Philippines. We have set criteria in the signed contracts in order to be safe and to have sustainability, because this also has its cost. Of course, it is about the workforce that is needed for positions that do not require qualification, i.e. cleaning, maintenance, sanitation workers, who are also very important in the service" claims Mr. Çipa.

And Mr. Kasa has the same attitude, underlining that for accommodation structures it is more difficult to find qualified staff.

"The structures are ready and tek-tuk may have problems with the staff, but they have almost solved it, because they are hiring foreign workers, at least for those positions that do not want qualification. So the problem remains the qualified staff, which is difficult to find", he says./ Monitor