TIRANA, Jul 23 (Albanian Times) - Tourism, one of the economic priorities of the administration, will now be regulated by a new law.
The law replaces the older 1993 legislation, and takes into account the market conditions under which the tourism industry is coming up.
The law targets major issues related to tourism such as licensing and monitoring tourism operators to guarantee quality of service. It provides for production of continuous and reliable statistics on tourist numbers. And it holds out a comprehensive vision for tourism development.
The law passed in May is among a series of measures taken this year, such as development of the National Cultural Tourism Strategy and the Tourism Development Strategy 2012 with the aim of generating at least 15 percent of gross national income by that year.
'Albania, Europe's last secret!' is the slogan of the season accompanying the new policies. The limitation of Albania's exposure is being built now as its strength.
The new law liberalises substantially the granting of licence to tourist agencies in a move to increase competition. The law also guarantees that Albania will soon have healthy auditing and inspecting capacities.
The law seeks to protect tourists, and the image of Albanian tourism, from unprofessional practices. "It will also prevent ugly deformations such as the advent of sexual tourism or money laundering through this trade," former tourism minister Bujar Leskaj, who was a member of the drafting committee for the new law, told IPS.
One of the more positive provisions of this new law is financial assistance through a special development fund for small, private businesses. The fund will be administered by the National Tourism Agency operating under the Ministry of Tourism. The agency will also coordinate efforts of the central and local government as well as non-governmental organisations and local businesses to promote tourism.
The provision of a strong legal framework for protecting tourists is central to the new law. Tourists have been given rights to register claims and complaints in order to receive refunds. This procedure has been assigned to the Office for Tourist Assistance. A tourist community protected by law is now seen as the first serious step towards improving the business climate of tourism in Albania.
But the increased regulation has brought some complaints too, and not everyone has welcomed all the new provisions.
"The government requires us to present a list of customers 48 hours before they reach the border checkpoint," Pandeli Sotiri, owner of a tourism agency in Saranda told IPS. "But we operate on the basis of attracting tourists just for one day. These customers usually come from Corfu and spontaneously decide to spend one day in Saranda. I don't know how to cope with this new regulation."
But a solid legal framework can be good news for business if correctly implemented. It guarantees stability and standards, and sends a positive signal to customers that in turn helps business and investment.
New investments in the field are not lacking. "An investment of two million euros has been committed to Durres for this tourist season," says Andrea Xhovara, head of the Chamber of Commerce of Durres. Durres has traditionally been the biggest tourist draw, bringing in revenues last year of 120 million euro from 150,000 tourists.
The law requires government agencies to coordinate their actions efficiently in order to facilitate tourism. In a recent decision the Interior Ministry used this framework to ban heavy load trucks from roads linking tourist sites, in an attempt to ease traffic congestion and make the sites more appealing to visitors.
As the tourist season progresses, many businesses are looking to more rapid implementation of the new law.
The new law was initiated to comply with the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) signed in June last year to take Albania on the road to the EU. The country is now on its way. (END/2007) (BIRN)
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