Endless tenders for road maintenance, but the axes don't even have markings at the peak of the tourist season

Albania is expecting an influx of visitors this tourist season that is estimated to be six times its population, with around 66.3% of them choosing to enter through land border points with their own vehicles. However, anyone who has traveled along the country's main roads over the past two months has been faced with a disappointing and extremely dangerous reality: unpaved roads and minimal horizontal signage.

This concern, raised by the head of the Albanian Tourism Association (ATA-Horeca), does not simply constitute an aesthetic defect in our road infrastructure, but a real danger to the lives of citizens and foreign tourists.

It is enough to cross the border to neighboring countries, such as Montenegro, Greece or Croatia, to notice the big difference: well-maintained roads with standards, clear markings and functional signage.

 

In Albania, the lack of horizontal markings has direct consequences for road safety. The risk of accidents increases, especially during night hours, or in bad weather or rainy conditions.

Also, according to Topuz's findings, new cars for foreign tourists, equipped with modern safety systems such as Lane Assist, fail to function in the absence of lane markings, leaving the driver without the vehicle's technological support.

The situation becomes even more absurd when it comes to vertical signage. Speed ​​limit signs are placed every 200–300 meters, often with drastic changes and without any clear technical criteria.

Instead of implementing proper engineering standards at the entry and exit points of secondary roads, authorities choose to install signs as an artificial and bureaucratic "solution" that only increases the confusion of drivers.

The head of the Tourism Association emphasizes that the steps taken towards modernization, such as the installation of smart cameras or the monitoring of road axes with drones, are positive initiatives aimed at disciplining traffic. However, a fair and principled question arises: Should the state fulfill its standard obligations before seeking to penalize and fine citizens through technology?

European standards of punishment cannot be demanded from drivers when the road infrastructure offers standards of developing countries.

Every month, millions of euros in tenders are opened in the public procurement system for road maintenance. Despite this, the situation on the ground remains scandalous. The question that naturally arises is: Where do these funds go?

As long as Albanian taxpayers' money and public funds are not translated into real road markings, safety, signage, and standards at the peak of the tourist season, Albania's image as a tourist destination will continue to be held hostage to mismanagement and lack of accountability.