“The removal of barriers is the first step in positioning the Western Balkans on the world tourism map.” The statement was issued today in Tirana by the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu during the opening of the Inter-Ministerial Conference on Tourism Development in the Western Balkans organized by RCC.

In her speech, Mjalinda Bregu stressed that tourism is for transformation and has the power to bring us all together, it has great potential to accelerate the progress and transformation of risks into opportunities if managed well and wisely.

“Today tourism has acquired a special economic and social importance. It is the fastest growing economic sector for most industrialized countries in recent years. This unusual industry sets the world in motion. In our region, life before the pandemic showed some positive trends. In 2019, more than 12 million people were visitors to the Western Balkans, bringing in a profit of 7.2 billion euros. The post-pandemic period of 2021 shows a recovery of 70%, in all tourist visits, while regional trips to the Western Balkans show a 92% recovery. Tourism was 10.2% of the region’s GDP and also more than 25% of exports! On average, 11.4% of the total employees in the Western Balkans were from this sector, and 55% of them were women “, declared Bregu.

According to her, the period after the pandemic last summer showed 70% recovery of tourist visits, while trips within the Western Balkans region show about 92% recovery. 

Bregu further focused on the important initiatives that RCC has undertaken that significantly affect the development of tourism in the Western Balkans. “The roaming region is an opportunity to strengthen the tourism offer and to complement the progressive tourism policies and practices in the region. A 500% increase in the use of telephone dates after” Roam Like at Home “can not be neglected. On June 8 “The Western Balkans and the European Union are beginning the process of approximating regulatory policies and practices to converge towards the Digital Common Market.”

The conference entitled “Removing Barriers to Sustainable Tourism Development” attended by the Ministers of Tourism of the Western Balkan countries, will serve as a forum for discussion on topics important for tourism in the region.

/Klara Ruci/