performance

“Albania has another challenge, which needs urgent capacity development on accommodation, by at least 2-3 times growth in 2030. In figures, it means that the country must expand its capacity with at least 15-20 thousand new beds, aiming to support a demand of 7 million visitors per year by 2030; and complementing and/or competing with neighboring countries with historic consolidation of touristic demands” (Aliaj, Janku, Allkja, & Dhamo, 2014)

1.4 “The Paradox” between the hotel construction sector and the market performance.

Referring to the records there is a considerable gap between the registered number of beds offered in Albania for tourism and the number of foreign citizens visiting the country during the year. The informality in the registration of the accommodation units make it difficult to achieve an accurate number of the actual offer in terms of accommodation. The confrontation of data between offer and supply in this sector cannot take in consideration the informal accommodation units, but on the other side has also excluded the domestic tourist.

The preferences for registration among the foreign tourists it is measured that 59% of them prefer the option of hotel as accommodation, 30% find accommodation to relatives and friends, 6% chose renting an apartment or house, 3% a motel or a pension and 2% other unspecified option. Considering that only during 2018, the external tourists have spent an average 4.3 over nights in Albania, from which 76% stayed at a

hotel can give as the first premises for the need of new accommodation structures. (INSTAT, 2018)

In Albania, there are constantly building new accommodation facilities even though the process, construction and management is generally not transparent to the public. The recent years, the state have given permits for construction covering in amonitored way thousands of square meters of territory without previous considered guidelines or criteria for hotel construction. Considering the growth of number of tourists in Albania and the need for constructing many accommodation facilities to reach the markets need.

Meantime, the period 2019-2023, the government has approved in the official documents the construction of 7 resorts and hotels2 . In most cases these establishments are related with the dominating interests of the construction industry and the amount of profitability presented in the development of an urban unit, available for the real estate market rather than contributing to the tourism industry in form of accommodation.

2 Ministry of Tourism and Environment. National Strategy of the Sustainable Development of Tourism 2019-2023.

Figure 3: Overview of Tourism and Construction Market. Source INSTAT. Scheme Adopted by author

The hypothesis raised during this research is sustained in the fact that the requirements for accommodation can be achievable through:

- Re-using the inherited accommodation structures during communism - Defining Strategies and Recommendations for revitalizing the old villages - Establishing a guideline of principles to be used during restoration processes and new upcoming design of hotels