Albanian Times: Albania tries to save it's beaches - Albania investing on saving the coast

Tirana – Albania has launched a new program to save its beaches for tourists and from them

Given its need for income from tourism, Albania cannot turn away from the development of infrastructure for visitors, which means that "Albania is not in a position to make great sacrifices for the environment," according to Arian Gace, national coordinator for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a small grants program. But there is still much to preserve.

"This country has astonishing nature, which is entirely unknown to people who come here," says Gent Mati from the tourism agency Outdoors Albania. Mati mentions primarily the "great sea coast, sandy, rocky and very different."

The coast stretches 470 km along the Adriatic to the west and the Ionian Sea further south. The popularity of the Dalmatian region in Croatia and of the Italian and Greek Mediterranean coasts suggests that the economy of Albania could benefit enormously from exploitation of its seashore.

But mass tourism has a flip side; it damages the environment and disrupts the rhythm of local communities. And that has led Albanian authorities to promote eco-tourism, and not just mass tourism.

The government launched a "strategy and action plan for the development of the Albanian tourism sector based on cultural and environmental tourism" last year. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting this program with more than US$ 3.5mn.

Preserving natural habitats will not be an easy task. "Albania cannot afford the luxury to keep the entire coast undeveloped and in a natural state," Gace said. Mass tourism will be unavoidable in some areas, he said. But some income from mass tourism could pay for preservation of other regions for eco-tourism, he said.


Some parts of the coast are far too damaged to be presented as attractions. "Swimming in the sea at Durres is like entering a lake next to an oil distillery," said Giorgos Adoniu, a Greek tourist travelling along the Albanian coast. "The water was greenish, and the bottom of the sea covered in slime."

Situated less than an hour's drive from capital Tirana, Durres is the second largest city in Albania. It also has the second largest concentration of industry.

The beaches around Durres are the most popular holiday destination for Tirana residents. People have learnt to ignore the poor quality of the water.


But conditions improve radically as one travels south. Vlora and Saranda are surrounded by beautiful, unspoiled beaches. Construction is now booming here too, in hotels and restaurants and resorts.

The drive on a narrow mountain road along the southern coast offers breathtaking views. The only signs of human presence are the traditional villages and, in a rather different way, some of the half million bunkers Communist leader Enver Hoxha built during the Cold War years.

If kept preserved, the small beaches of the south will remain ideal destinations for eco-tourism. In Ksamil, a small beach close to Saranda, one can rent a water bicycle for less than three euros to ride to the many islets, all uninhabited. Many foreign tourists come here.

"It's not necessary to over-develop in order to attract tourists to such wonderful places," says Adoniu.

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