Rama continues the propaganda for tourism: Work in Albania, wages have increased, taxes have decreased

2024-08-15 14:49:00, Politikë CNA

Rama continues the propaganda for tourism: Work in Albania, wages have

Edi Rama, Prime Minister

The head of the government, Edi Rama, while publishing an article in the "Monitor" magazine, emphasizes that working in tourism in Greece or Italy or anywhere else in Europe, as an Albanian immigrant, is no longer a better choice than working in Albania.

According to the Prime Minister, significantly increased salaries and much lower taxes and expenses than anywhere else, make working in the Albanian tourism sector a better choice than in other countries around.

Full reaction:

"Monitor" magazine is far from being a favorable media source for the government. That is why I chose to post her article here as a completely independent voice, which confirms what I have been trying to repeat for some time:
Working in tourism in Greece or Italy or anywhere else in Europe, as an Albanian immigrant, is not no better choice than working in Albania, from Thethi to Ksamil. Salaries increased significantly and taxes and expenses much lower than anywhere else, make working in the Albanian tourism sector a better choice than in other countries around.
Some excerpts from the "Monitor" article and quotes from the tour operators themselves:
This year's tourist season is facing an important change in the tourism sector: the increase in wages that has helped solve a persistent problem—the labor shortage . The increase in wages has made the tourism sector attract more seasonal workers and improve the quality of services.
This improvement has helped stabilize services and provided a better experience for tourists.
"It has not been resolved 100%, but we are much better than previous seasons, this is certainly due to the increase in wages in tourism; so, today if you take some of the most difficult jobs such as sanitation in hotels, the salaries are higher than bank employees, reaching up to 1000 euros per month"...
"All the hotels and businesses that have taken this season seriously they have been forced to increase their salaries, because this sector cannot continue as it has continued these years, where we hire staff, train them for 2-3 months, give them their salaries and they leave. Now we have fixed contracts and very satisfactory salaries, and so far this year we are seeing that this solution is the right one"...
A waiter in the south of the country this summer season is being paid an average of 900-1000 euros per month, while a sanitary can earn up to 700 euros per month. These salaries have also been reported in other coastal areas, where tour operators point out that the highest salaries are for chefs and bar managers. In some cases, the salaries for these positions reach up to 3000 euros per month.
"To address the lack of qualified staff, we have taken measures by increasing salaries, which this year reach up to 1000 euros for waiters. Tips, which constitute a separate source of income for them, are not included in this amount. The increase in wages has become necessary since for years we have suffered from the lack of labor force"...
Now even immigrants are choosing to return during the season, not only for vacations, but also to work with wages that are comparable to those in European countries. Some of them have decided to work in Albania this season.
"They choose to work in professions such as cooks, chefs, or managers, where the salaries are very high. The standard of living in Albania, which is lower than in other European countries, is an important factor in this choice".../CNA