Tourism Economic Analysis

I take advantage of this blog to spread some information about my work here. I hope it is interesting for you!

In 2006, UNDP Albania has begun a three year program to assist the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports (MoTCYS) in raising Albania’s potential as an internationally recognized destination for cultural and eco-tourism. The program focuses on providing direct technical assistance to the Ministry, and will coordinate large-scale tourism projects in Gjirokaster and Berat, chosen for their current and anticipated UNESCO status.

Eco- and cultural tourism provides unique ways to protect environmental and cultural assets, promote and preserve the heritage and traditions of a country, while at the same time providing economic and job growth opportunities.

In this framework, for the year 2007 a Tourism Economic Analysis will be undertaken in order to better understand the current dimension of tourism in Albania. A lack of and a poor quality of the existing data, convinced UNDP Albania to implement the following activities.
· One-year survey at the international airport in Tirana addressed to the exit passengers. It has started in April and foresees a mid-term report with preliminary results in October. It is part of the “Image of Albania” project.
· Seasonal survey in selected natural and cultural sites. It will cover non-residents in Albania visitors in sites such as Butrint, Berat, Gjirokaster and Theth National Park, from May to September.
· Seasonal survey for sun, sand & sea tourism. It will cover Durres beach from June to September, interviewing Albanian ethnic tourists.
· Situation Paper on Eco- and Cultural Tourism Market. This study wants to describe the positioning of culture and nature based tourism in Albania in the international tourism market. It also gives a diagnosis, i.e. suggestions to policy makers to better address investments or to take decisions to better profit from this sector, avoiding predictable mistakes.
· Strategy for Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA). The TSA methodology was developed by the United Nations to measure the economic size of the tourism sector within a country, according to international standards. The aim is to design a simplified model to assess the impact of tourism in the economy, avoiding to use input/output accounts, currently not available.

The seasonal surveys will provide precious data on tourist demographic profile, accommodations and activities attended, degree of satisfaction, expenditure pattern, and sensitivity to changes in prices. Altogether, these activities can help Albania in cost effectively targeting its tourism marketing campaign and guide its investment in cultural and nature-based tourism.

To help support and assist the Tourism Program team in their efforts to implement these activities, UNDP Albania is seeking for partnerships and contributions for the collection and exchanging of information. Any institutions involved in this sector and willing to collaborate, can contact us.

For all inquiries and questions about the Tourism Economic Analysis, please contact Marco Bordoni (e-mail: marco.bordoni at undp.org)