Albanian Minister of Tourism Blendi Klosi spoke today regarding the conditions under which the tourism industry will reopen this year.
Klosi said that maintaining physical distancing will be crucial. New regulations for beaches will allow no more than 4 people within a 10-square-meter area.
Parties and large groups of tourists in small spaces will be prohibited.
Klosi claimed that the government is negotiating with certain countries and airlines, so that international tourists may be able to come to Albania via charter flights and stay in hotels while following all the appropriate physical distancing rules. Tourists from the region, the minister said, will be able to arrive in Albania through its land borders.
Despite Klosi’s enthusiasm, it seems the government still lacks a concrete financial relief plan for the tourism industry, who, the IMF predicted, will be hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, and the November earthquake.
On April 20, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that he “[had] no answer for the tourism sector because it is a situation where no one knows when it’s coming back. We don’t know how it will be done, but in May we will clarify…The Minister of Tourism is working to understand what will happen.”
