Ski – resort and regional development: profile of visitors ... - E-Journal

Sustainable tourism in the small and medium tourism businesses in albania
The survey showed that the benefits of adopting sustainable management practices appear
to have been realized by the large, managed hotels perhaps related to encouragement and
financial support of the parent company or headquarters. The potential of sustainable
management to produce savings in expenditure or improve business prospects appears influential
in these decisions to implement such practices, although personal interest in the environment
was also an important motivator. Such interest might be targeted, at least in the first instance,
in future strategies to establish working examples of sustainability and the associated costs
and benefits. Positivism towards sustainability appeared to increase with unit size. In general,
small businesses do not have the interest, resources or time required to introduce environmental
management practices.
What should be done in the New Albanian Analyze?
It is no time when the main aim of tourism policies was easy tourism growth without taking
care too much of the natural and cultural environment. It is no the time when for every 5 years
our public sector impose a new strategy.
It is the time of adapting new policies, new analyses, that can support and welcome the “new”
international tourist in a sustainable way. Of course, I know that on one side, requests new
analyze need such investments that are seen as a tool for promoting higher incomes in tourism.
On the other one, tourism policy encourages a “sustainable” growth of the underdeveloped
areas in internal parts of the region. At this time, internal areas are not as spoilt as coastal
zones.
Moreover, these new trends have emerged together with the following features:
- Improvement of infra-and superstructure;
- Promotion of alternative forms of niche tourism (especially in the mountain areas through
Alternative livelihood opportunities, such as eco-tourism and “paesi-albergo”);
- Development of new destinations away from the traditional coastal resorts.
It is the time when:
• More must be done in the diversification of the tourism product;
• Incentives for tourism development must become more selective;
• To go towards the upgrading of new infrastructures and the construction of other specific
tourism facilities (e.g. marinas, golf courses, new villages;
Finally, in the context of development in south region of my country I recommend in terms
of politics:
• Partnerships between the State, the private sector and community, because no single actor,
either public or private, can solve on its own all the many problems related to tourism.
So, partnerships are particularly important in allowing for positive collaboration among
all the actors;
Tourism Today - Fall 2007 - Full Paper
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