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Rama speaks for the Italian newspaper "La Stampa"/ "This summer tourism has exceeded our expectations"

2023-08-10 14:06:00, Aktualitet CNA

Rama speaks for the Italian newspaper "La Stampa"/ "This summer

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Prime Minister Edi Rama in an interview for the Italian newspaper "La Stampa", where he spoke about tourism, which according to the head of the government has exceeded expectations.

"We are walking in the footsteps of your country (Italy - ed.). But this summer has been beyond expectations. We had a 35 percent increase in tourists, the numbers of Italians are impressive and are close to half a million. At the beginning of my mandate (2013 – ed.), Tirana airport handled a maximum of 350,000 passengers per year. Now over 6.5 million", revealed the prime minister.

During the interview, Rama emphasized that the approach has changed in contrast to the past when Albanian immigrants were prejudiced and labeled as "criminals, mafia, poor immigrants".

"We have to make up for lost time. But be careful: we don't want to make the big mistakes of Italy or other countries, of the coasts or of the conquered cities. "Mass arrivals and low costs (loë cost - ed.) can destroy the future and leave behind eco-monsters and environmental catastrophes", emphasized the prime minister.

The number one of the Government noted that Albania has equaled Greece and just passed Italy for the number of tourists per capita.

"Unbelievable, but we have worked hard for it in these years of the Albanian Renaissance. Looking ahead, we want balanced and increasingly high-level tourism. It takes three or four years to be ready to ride with the big guys," he said.

Rama recalls that the Albanian authorities do not want to fall into the "honey trap", as today's figures can deceive future generations.

"Mass tourism is not sustainable for the environment. Balance is needed to protect nature. But that's easier said than done. We are running against the wind", said the Prime Minister.

As for the leadership from the energy point of view, the prime minister brought to attention that two important companies such as "Shell" and "Eni" are developing large operations for gas and oil in the unexplored Albanian land.

At this point, he stung during the interview also the position of Italian investments in our country.

"Italy is a very strong ally. If she was smart and lived up to her reputation, she would have made a lot more investments. I think that the economic cunning of your country is more of a myth than reality", said Rama to La Stampa.

Turning to the situation on the war front and Ukraine and its implications for Albania's EU membership, Rama hopes that it will speed up the full integration of European countries into the EU.

"It is no longer only a financial issue, but above all a geopolitical issue. It would be far-sighted for the Western Balkans to enter without delay, in order not to leave black holes and space for third parties that have already created problems for the region," he emphasized./ CNA