You might have noticed headlines cropping up over the past 12 months, hailing "the Maldives of Europe". Or, if you're on social media, influencers going crazy for a scenic stretch of beach in a tiny seaside town called Ksamil. This coveted new hotspot can be found in the somewhat unlikely destination of... Albania.
Unlikely, because up until 1990, this staggeringly beautiful Balkan country, bordered by Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece was, to all intents and purposes, closed off to the rest of the world. Ruled for 40 years by dictator Enver Hoxha, it laboured under a Stalinist regime which foisted extreme poverty on its people; by the time of his death in 1985, the country was the poorest in Europe, and the third poorest globally, with a GDP per capita of US$640 and an average monthly income of around 5,000 lek (£41).
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/s3e8Syld51724926224955.jpg]
The Capital´s cityscape at sunset.
What a difference a few decades makes. Since emerging from the heavy mantle of communism, Albania has started to flourish under its new, free-market economy, and the leisure and business sectors are sitting up and taking notice.
Reasons to visit are manifold: firstly, the sparkling Adriatic and Ionian coastline, known as the Albanian Riviera, which stretches down from the bustling city of Vlorë, through smaller, prettier towns such as Dhërmi (popular with dance music fans thanks to annual beachside festivals such as Kala and Ion), Himarë, Sarandë and, of course, Ksamil (see page 43). It also offers mountainous landscapes, a plethora of hiking trails, fascinating UNESCO heritage sites, a delicious culinary scene and - currently, as it's still waiting to have its request to join the European Union fully approved - fantastic value for money. A pint of beer or glass of wine will set you back around £2, a cocktail around £6, with a restaurant meal nearing £12. What's not to love?
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/0944442221.jpg]
A mosaic above the entrance to the National History Museum in Tirana.
Rich offerings
Over the past few years, tourism has shot up stratospherically; recent figures from the European Travel Commission show it's grown 86 per cent since 2019. Its GDP per capita has also been increasing, and last year stood at US$8,800, while the average monthly salary is now around 84,000 lek (£704). Foreign direct investment is also on the rise, with countries including Switzerland, Italy, and the Netherlands targeting sectors such as energy, mining, information and real estate to a value of around US$1.5 billion in 2022, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report. Not bad for a country which used to depend on foreign food aid.
Today, Albania's main economic hub - and its most industrialised and fastest-growing area - is its handsome, cosmopolitan capital, Tirana. As a result, it has plenty of hotels, conference and event: spaces that service the MICE industry - from the Tirana International Hotel & Conference Centre on central Skanderbeg Square, to the Palace of Congresses, a 60s-era, Soviet Modernist-style building a short drive away. The full gamut of international hotel brands can also be found here, including Radisson, Hilton, Marriott, Meliá and the recently opened Mercure, with more in the works.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/0207794402.jpg]
Albania capital of Tirana has plenty to offer travelers.
Due to open in 2025 is a brand new InterContinental, currently being constructed on one corner of Skanderbeg Square. It will house around 300 rooms and suites, a luxury spa, casino, several dining outlets including a rooftop restaurant and bar, and a large conference centre with capacity for up to 1,000 people.
Expo Albania, a convention centre with hotel rooms and a wine museum, has also been newly commissioned this year. Designed by US firm Stephen Holl Architects, in conjunction with Polish artist Agnieszka Kurant, renderings show striking wavy architecture, with plans for high ecological standards ranging from recycled rainwater pools to solar shingles (photovoltaic roof tiles).
A third international airport is also underway at Vlorë, on the southwest coast, joining the main hub in Tirana and Kukës International Airport in the north. The new airport is scheduled for completion in 2025, and is projected to cost around US$116 million. Vlorës seafront is also being transformed with the Vlorë Marina, a mixed-use development project that will include a new five-star hotel and stylish, sea-view apartments, with moorings for over 400 yachts and super-yachts.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/4419120242.jpg]
Discover bunkers at BunkÁrt2 museum.
Immerse in culture
All this being said, Albania is still some way off from being a high-end, luxury destination; its lack of high-quality infrastructure positions it roughly where the likes of Croatia and Montenegro were 15 to 20 years ago. But that's also part of its undeniable, unhurried charm. Even the most discerning traveller will find much to get excited about, especially in Tirana, which, with a population of around 528,000, is walkable and relatively easy to navigate.
Skanderbeg Square is a great starting point, lined with imposing buildings boasting magnificent historic architecture, from the strikingly brutalist Opera and Ballet Theatre (also known as the Palace of Culture) to the National History Museum, whose facade is emblazoned with an intricate, Socialist Realism style mosaic depicting important milestones in the country's history. Nearby is the 18th century Et'hem Bey mosque approximately 59 per cent of Albania's population is Muslim - with an elegant, handpainted interior.
For a taste of Hoxha's brutal and terrifying regime, visit Bunk'Art 1 and 2. The museums/art galleries are recreations of the estimated 750,000 underground bunkers Hoxha had built throughout the country between 1960-1980, paranoid about nuclear attacks. From the domed entrance, descend several sets of steps into its gloomy concrete depths to learn more about life under communist rule, from the secret police force to how the regime finally ended.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-172...
Unlikely, because up until 1990, this staggeringly beautiful Balkan country, bordered by Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece was, to all intents and purposes, closed off to the rest of the world. Ruled for 40 years by dictator Enver Hoxha, it laboured under a Stalinist regime which foisted extreme poverty on its people; by the time of his death in 1985, the country was the poorest in Europe, and the third poorest globally, with a GDP per capita of US$640 and an average monthly income of around 5,000 lek (£41).
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/s3e8Syld51724926224955.jpg]
The Capital´s cityscape at sunset.
What a difference a few decades makes. Since emerging from the heavy mantle of communism, Albania has started to flourish under its new, free-market economy, and the leisure and business sectors are sitting up and taking notice.
Reasons to visit are manifold: firstly, the sparkling Adriatic and Ionian coastline, known as the Albanian Riviera, which stretches down from the bustling city of Vlorë, through smaller, prettier towns such as Dhërmi (popular with dance music fans thanks to annual beachside festivals such as Kala and Ion), Himarë, Sarandë and, of course, Ksamil (see page 43). It also offers mountainous landscapes, a plethora of hiking trails, fascinating UNESCO heritage sites, a delicious culinary scene and - currently, as it's still waiting to have its request to join the European Union fully approved - fantastic value for money. A pint of beer or glass of wine will set you back around £2, a cocktail around £6, with a restaurant meal nearing £12. What's not to love?
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/0944442221.jpg]
A mosaic above the entrance to the National History Museum in Tirana.
Rich offerings
Over the past few years, tourism has shot up stratospherically; recent figures from the European Travel Commission show it's grown 86 per cent since 2019. Its GDP per capita has also been increasing, and last year stood at US$8,800, while the average monthly salary is now around 84,000 lek (£704). Foreign direct investment is also on the rise, with countries including Switzerland, Italy, and the Netherlands targeting sectors such as energy, mining, information and real estate to a value of around US$1.5 billion in 2022, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report. Not bad for a country which used to depend on foreign food aid.
Today, Albania's main economic hub - and its most industrialised and fastest-growing area - is its handsome, cosmopolitan capital, Tirana. As a result, it has plenty of hotels, conference and event: spaces that service the MICE industry - from the Tirana International Hotel & Conference Centre on central Skanderbeg Square, to the Palace of Congresses, a 60s-era, Soviet Modernist-style building a short drive away. The full gamut of international hotel brands can also be found here, including Radisson, Hilton, Marriott, Meliá and the recently opened Mercure, with more in the works.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/0207794402.jpg]
Albania capital of Tirana has plenty to offer travelers.
Due to open in 2025 is a brand new InterContinental, currently being constructed on one corner of Skanderbeg Square. It will house around 300 rooms and suites, a luxury spa, casino, several dining outlets including a rooftop restaurant and bar, and a large conference centre with capacity for up to 1,000 people.
Expo Albania, a convention centre with hotel rooms and a wine museum, has also been newly commissioned this year. Designed by US firm Stephen Holl Architects, in conjunction with Polish artist Agnieszka Kurant, renderings show striking wavy architecture, with plans for high ecological standards ranging from recycled rainwater pools to solar shingles (photovoltaic roof tiles).
A third international airport is also underway at Vlorë, on the southwest coast, joining the main hub in Tirana and Kukës International Airport in the north. The new airport is scheduled for completion in 2025, and is projected to cost around US$116 million. Vlorës seafront is also being transformed with the Vlorë Marina, a mixed-use development project that will include a new five-star hotel and stylish, sea-view apartments, with moorings for over 400 yachts and super-yachts.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-1724926161636/4419120242.jpg]
Discover bunkers at BunkÁrt2 museum.
Immerse in culture
All this being said, Albania is still some way off from being a high-end, luxury destination; its lack of high-quality infrastructure positions it roughly where the likes of Croatia and Montenegro were 15 to 20 years ago. But that's also part of its undeniable, unhurried charm. Even the most discerning traveller will find much to get excited about, especially in Tirana, which, with a population of around 528,000, is walkable and relatively easy to navigate.
Skanderbeg Square is a great starting point, lined with imposing buildings boasting magnificent historic architecture, from the strikingly brutalist Opera and Ballet Theatre (also known as the Palace of Culture) to the National History Museum, whose facade is emblazoned with an intricate, Socialist Realism style mosaic depicting important milestones in the country's history. Nearby is the 18th century Et'hem Bey mosque approximately 59 per cent of Albania's population is Muslim - with an elegant, handpainted interior.
For a taste of Hoxha's brutal and terrifying regime, visit Bunk'Art 1 and 2. The museums/art galleries are recreations of the estimated 750,000 underground bunkers Hoxha had built throughout the country between 1960-1980, paranoid about nuclear attacks. From the domed entrance, descend several sets of steps into its gloomy concrete depths to learn more about life under communist rule, from the secret police force to how the regime finally ended.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1450191940/1724773960/articles/UcIxYrW6-172...
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Business Traveller Uk (Digital) - 1 Issue, September 2024