The Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro participated  in the Ministerial Conference of the Western Balkans “Removal of barriers to a Sustainable Tourism Development”, which took place in Tirana.

Kumbaro, wearing a traditional vest from the Gjirokastra area, at the beginning of her speech said that Albania is exactly the bridge where cultures pass, where history has started from one country and passed to another, where traditions are often shared , where we identify even with small signs.

“The vest I am wearing is from Gjirokastra and in the meantime, my friend and colleague, the Minister of Tourism of Serbia, Tatjana Matic, told me a little while ago that it looks like it is from us. Because the Balkans is nothing but a crossroads of coexistences of cultures, religions, languages ​​that are combined with each other and sometimes we have not understood these combinations, sometimes we have misunderstood them, so I am very glad that we are in this mahogany organized in Tirana and to talk about what makes us unite around a topic that is tourism”- declared Kumbaro. 

Kumbaro added that Albania is not a classic tourist destination, like its neighbors, but for several years it has become a destination to be discovered, the favorite destination of the curious, the destination where the snowy peak of a mountain is half an hour away drive from the most beautiful beaches in the world which according to the prestigious press “The Guardian Travel” are ranked among the 40 best beaches in the world for the current year.

The event, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council, brought together Western Balkan tourism ministers, representatives of the European Commission and other stakeholders to discuss the following issues: Facing the COVID-19 disaster, improving the business climate for sustainable tourism investment ,  innovation in the service of tourism and vice versa.