Albania Tourism as the “New Kid on the Block.”

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ALBANIAN TOURISM Beckons International Brands

STATISTICAL DATA, SURVEY, ANALYSIS, BUSINESS INTERVIEWS, DIPLOMACY, TRAVEL, ART…

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DECEMBER

2018

Enjoy maximum Freedom.

Schüco Sliding Systems.

For more information or support, please contact our sales representative: +355 68 20 50 919 or a.hasani@alukoenigstahl.com

The largest German Investment in Albania.

We had a vision of creating a new state-of-art business park through applying Lindner’s pioneering concept, which combines the best elements of high-quality, European business environments with a future oriented green approach.

And... we did it!

We created a new, excellent working location. Only 20 minutes far from the city center, leaving behind the noise and pollution of the city, while entering in a green environment.

“A city within a City“

TBP is a great place to work and to do business. We as TBP want to have a working environment where we can meet new partners and create successful partnerships. Supporting and helping each other is a fundamental topic in our

park.

Vlerat që na bashkojnë.

Rruga e Barrikadave 1001, Tirana, Albania Tel: +355 42 54 764 Mob: +355 68 20 52 744

E-mail: info@albsig.al

ALBSIG was established in 2004 as part of Kastrati Group, one of the biggest investment groups in Albania and Balkan region. The company provides life insurance, reinsurance solutions and non-life insurance products to various large, small and medium-sized enterprises and to indiviual clients in Albania.

ALBSIG serves its customers through a network of 22 branches all over Albania and 400 agencies and has more than 280 employees. ALBSIG is offering more than 25 insurance products. ALBSIG has a varied product portfolio that allows it to cater to a large customer base. Products and services are distributed through an extensive network of own sales staff, agents and exclusive partners throughout the Albanian territory.

ALBSIG is one of the leading insurance companies in Albanian insurance market. Customer confidence in our ability to meet our liabilities at any time, forms the basis of our success. Dynamism describes ALBSIG in terms of client service. ALBSIG has been working continuously on making all of its customer processes more efficient and faster, including the modernisation and optimisation of all procceses, and also by providing very high-quality services.

SHKODËR

LEZHË

MALËSI E MADHE

KURBIN

TROPOJË

PUKË

MIRDITË

MAT

HAS

KUKËS

DIBËR

DURRËS

KRUJËBULQIZË

MORE THAN 22 BRANCHES

MORE THAN 25 PRODUCTS MORE THAN 280 EMPLOYEES

TIRANË KAVAJË

LIBRAZHD

LUSHNJË

FIER

MALLAKASTËR

VLORË

PEQIN

ELBASAN

KUÇOVË GRAMSH

BERAT

SKRAPAR

TEPELENË PËRMET

GJIROKASTËR

POGRADEC

KORÇË

DEVOLL

KOLONJË

For more information please visit www.albsig.al

SARANDË

DELVINË

ADRIA HOTEL FORUM hotel investment conference Feb 20 th – 21 st 2019, Crowne Plaza Belgrade

www.adria-forum.eu

Adria Hotel Forum (AHF) is the leading Southeast European hotel investment conference, which gathers all the relevant actors including international experts, presidents and members of the boards of the largest regional and global hotel companies, ministers, investors, institutional representatives, financial institutions, consultants, architects, lawyers and other experts. For the first time, the 7th AHF will be held in Belgrade, Serbia in Crowne Plaza hotel on February 20th and 21th 2019 on the following theme: IS THE FUTURE BRIGHT?

It is a question how can we boost the tourism arrivals and at the same time hotel investments and development on a larger scale, while the money is still cheap and the investors’ interest is relatively high. What are the hotel products that should be developed in the region and how can we take advantage of the Far East markets that are booming at the moment (China, India, South Korea)? How should Croatia and Montenegro compete with the upcoming markets like Turkey, Tunisia and Greece and how should capital cities like Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana compete with already mature markets like Vienna, Budapest and Prague. And is Albania a new hot spot?

In addition, AHF 2019 participants will be discussing where are the investors coming from, where the money goes, what are potential development locations in the region, are we ready for the new brands, what are regional ROIs in compare to the wester Europe and trends in hostel design.

Some of the AHF panelists are the leading global hotel investment funds that are interested to invest in this region. Together with them, leading regional companies linked to hotel industry together with the global participants from companies like InterContinental Hotels Group, Accor Hotels, Colliers International, STR, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt International, HDC and many others will be joining the discussion.

AHF is the place where all relevant decision makers and the leaders in hotel industry “have to be”. Until now AHF has gathered more than 1800 attendees, 250 panelists, 100 round-table discussions and presentations, and more than 150 partners.

THE LEADING LAW FIRM IN ALBANIA

Leading Law Firm in

Albania

Partner of Yingke Law Firm China

www.lpalbania.com

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This panel highlighted Albania as the next tourism destination in the IHIDCF in Vienna.

Believing that it is the incoming destination, Albania is being eyed by many well-experienced world hospitality experts, who are having on their strategic development plans Albania as the “New Kid on the Block.”

This was the message conveyed by the International Hotel Investment & Design Club Forum (IHIDCF) which was hosted at Hilton Vienna Hotel in Austria on November 8 with the participation of 40 leaders from the field of design and architecture, investments, development, hotel operations and consulting and other hospitality related business experts.

The IHIDCF is a key platform, established in 2007, where the industry’s leading hotel investors, developers, operators and advisors come together every November in Vienna to speak about the latest trends and developments in the hospitality industry in CEE-SEE-CIS and Russia.

Focusing on CEE-SEE-CIS and Russia, the Forum, organized by Hotels Asset Management, Reburg & Partners and Michaeler &Partner, made a 350-people

audience familiar with valuable industry insights through experts on innovation in hospitality. About 5 panels discussed different aspects of hospitality including the New Ways of Hospitality – Staying Ahead of the Game; Design and Architecture – Hotel Design as an Innovation Driver; Developments – Investments – Transactions; Brands and Trends and Resorts – Paradise Found “The recipe for success – Hot Spots in Emerging Europe.”

Otmar Michaeler, CEO, Falkensteiner

Michaeler Tourism Group, told Follow Business Albania that Albania is in his

plans and that his company is interested to start the first project in Albania. “Let’s try. I hope that in the next months you will hear more about that,” Michaeler stated.

“We had some meetings with the Albanian government some months ago. We visited some properties in Albania. Personally I am convinced that Albania has a high potential as a tourist destination. In this respect, infrastructure is the most important pre-investment done by the government. If this investment will be done in the right way, then I think international investors and companies will invest in Albania,” Michaeler said.

Hilton Garden Inn was the newest Tirana hotel near city center and airport. This

International Hotel Forum in Vienna Mentions Albania as the Next Tourist Destination

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet By Rudina HOXHA & Jose PINTO

Live from Vienna, Austria

Calls on Hoteliers Stay on Top of Hospitality

34 December 2018

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hotel, inaugurated last September, is expected to make a change in the hospitality landscape in the country. Marybelle Arnett, Vice President Development, Central and Eastern Europe, Hilton highlighted this fact saying that “We are very exciting to have entered Albania and the capital city with our Hilton Garden Inn brand. Our expectations are that the customer is going to love staying at the hotel and the owners are going to be very happy.”

In the same line, Jochem-Jan Sleiffer, Senior Vice President Operations, Full Service Hotels, Continental Europe said that “I think Albania has a great future over the next couple of years. I think we will see many of the hotel brands entering the market. We are very happy entering with Hilton Garden Inn and into Tirana. I think Hilton Garden Inn is going to be the first of many, many hotels in Albania in the next couple of years.”

From right to left: Mr. Jose Pinto, Ms. Rudina Hoxha and Mr. Andreas Augustin at IHIDCF

In his view, the Balkans region has a good growth of opportunities. “I think there is a particular opportunity in the region for the branded hotels. I think people stay in those hotels where they know what are going to get. That why having big brands like Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, like Hampton, will be the future into the region.”

A big name in the design area, Andrew Linwood, Head of Hospitality areen design, asked to spread word among developers in Albania who need designers.

“Albania is the incoming destination. In fact, I suggested to my own family that we go on holidays to Albania last summer but it did not happen. But it might happen next summer. It is definitely a place to go. It has a Mediterranean climate and a Mediterranean culture; it has wine, it has sunshine and it has good food. What’s not to like? I think it is a huge future. You have a look at the map and see where it is. It has a great location in the Mediterranean. Clearly it has a great future. We love to be there. If you know any client who wants to build a hotel, we can design.”

One of the IHIDCF organizers, the Austrian

December 2018

Frans- Jan Soede, with a 30 yearsexperience in tourism and hotel projects, investment forecast, operator-investor search and more, will open an office in Albania early next year.

“We are happy to announce the opening of an office in Tirana in January 2019 and from there, we intend to assist the real estate developers and the existing hotel owners in respect of performance and enhancement, operators search, project development on the coast in terms of resorts. Resort is a very complex field of hospitality development, so it needs you to look at architecture, planning, cost estimation and bring the different right people under one umbrella. That is what we want to provide to Albania in terms of coast areas but even the rural areas.”

I hope the cooperation with Albania, he added, will be a long lasting one because “it is challenging to enter Albanian market for the time being because the whole market structure is under reorganization. But I think there is a big future for us to take on different assignments.”

Conclusions

OVERALL the focus of the forum was to discuss Innovation and review the Hospitality industry from different perspectives keeping in mind the effects of digitalization, changing guest expectations as well as the hotel profitability as quoted by Tanja Millner, the Event Director.

Further it was also discussed how can other Hotel concepts, student living and micro living can be highly profitable and be fitted in new cities looking to diversify their portfolio.

On the design panel, efficient space concept and utilization, exciting new hotel/building design, modular, cheaper than conventional construction concepts were the hot topics. Lot of attention and discussion was dedicated to global design vs local architecture and Eco –conscious and commercial viable. Proper and dedicated Location study is key.

Service Apartments was a topic presented by Reiner Nittka, CEO of GBI AG, who explained how this concept can be profitable and well accepted in Europe and other regions. He also raised the eye brows of the participants when he mentioned “the Commercial Living- does it exist?.

On the spotlight of the hottest markets where Albania was mentioned by being one of the near future Hot market, it was also wide spoken about the agreements of the 21 st century and how owners/ investors are becoming more experts and want to be involved in the operational decisions . Investments experts are more and more looking into a detailed Feasibility studies and looking who is who when such is done. Reliability of the executer is key to decision.

This Forum made us feel excited as obviously the moment is coming towards Albania in the investment aspect

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