"Adventure with tourism", when the state chooses force, not vision

2025-07-12 08:31:00, Sociale CNA

Actor Liam Neeson "made Albania known" by following Marko from Tropoxha (Tropoja).

The film "Taken," where Neeson plays the lead role, and series like "Blacklist" or "Bones" have included sequences where Albanians are depicted as kidnappers, traffickers, or terrorists.

For decades, Albania has struggled with the image of a dangerous country, associated with crime, unrest and instability. Even the Albanian government itself used the slogan “takenbyalbania” in an advertisement, “inviting” actor Neeson to visit an Albania different from the one depicted in the film.

It took the land of eagles to be "discovered" by tourists for this image to change completely. It was foreigners themselves who found a different Albania, one that was developing rapidly, with natural and cultural diversity, cheap prices, tradition, and friendly people.

Albania is slowly losing the stigma of being a dangerous country, plagued by organized crime, and tourists are actually the ones who are changing the country's image, making it go viral for good on social media.

The country is even ranked as one of the top five places to travel solely by specialized travel platforms.

However, recent developments show that this image is still fragile – and can be easily damaged.

The latest footage from Thethi – one of Albania's natural gems and an increasingly popular destination – showed a completely different scene: physical clashes between police and residents, weapons drawn in the middle of the tourist season, a show of force that instilled fear and uncertainty among foreign and domestic tourists.

This was no longer a movie scene, but a disturbing reality that could set back years of efforts to improve the country's image.

Of course, the state has the right to fight illegal construction and illegality, not only in Theth but in every corner of the country, but the intervention in Theth highlighted two main issues:

1. Lack of institutional responsibility – the action exposed the state institutions themselves, which intentionally (before the elections) or unintentionally (through incompetence) had allowed illegal construction to take place everywhere. Illegal construction has been tolerated for years, often during election periods or due to the lack of regulatory plans.

2. The intervention method damages the image – high-profile actions at the peak of the season create uncertainty and harm even those who operate legally.

Albania is not having an easy tourist season even without these episodes. Problems such as water supply, sea pollution from sewage, waste management, garbage incineration, road infrastructure, or heavy traffic have created a stressful environment for tourism operators and vacationers.

The American Chamber of Commerce, in a direct statement, warned of the negative impact that these problems are having on the quality of life and the functioning of accommodation structures.

The boom in the tourism sector came to Albania at a critical moment, cushioning the consequences of the population's decline in consumption and boosting a number of economic sectors.

The high interest caught the government somewhat unprepared, without a clear development policy model, and this is evident in the way the sector is being managed.

In some areas, development was left to chance, such as in the north, where residents built because they could neither solve the ownership problem nor obtain permits in the absence of development plans.

In some areas, such as the south, hills are being concreted with strategic permits. In others, natural areas are being stripped of their protection.

Tourism is not developed through police actions or seasonal “campaigns.” It requires long-term strategies, integrated planning, institutional cooperation, and respect for the local community. Where the state is absent, chaos arises. And where chaos becomes the norm, tourists leave.

If Albania is to continue to move forward as a sustainable and competitive destination, it must understand that tourism development is not a matter of strength, but a matter of vision.

Without a national plan for the development of tourist areas, without legal regulations for ownership, without construction standards, without functional infrastructure and public services, the country risks this "tourist adventurism" ending in an unhappy story - not only for tourists, but for the entire economy.

Tourism, like the economy as a whole, is not built with actions, but with functional institutions, with sustainable policies and clear development plans. Otherwise, Albania's "new image" will be as dangerous as in the movies - only this time, real./ Monitor Magazine