With the end of the 2023 tourist season, Albania had a record number of tourists, over 8 million. But, even though the figures are high, the developments in the tourism sector are not reflected in its supporting sectors. Today it is impossible for a tourist to find what are the forms of public, interurban transport, costs, departure and arrival points, as well as the corresponding schedules. Investments by state institutions have been significant, but digital platforms have remained paper efficient.
Author: Nasibe Nur Karik
In recent years, tourism in Albania has increased and this success has been reflected in many citations of concrete cases by the leaders of the government and local government.
"This year Albania is experiencing the season of a historic turning point, which is the result of many efforts made in previous years and the crowning of a new phase of transformation for tourism", - said the Prime Minister, Edi Rama, who added that this increase in tourism is the first significant fruit in determining the path to Albania 2030, the year in which our country will be the absolute champion in the region for tourism.
But, being the champion of the region for tourism requires being a champion in other sectors as well, since everything is interconnected in the development of an economic sector, even more so in a sector like tourism. One of the urgent needs that the country has for the continuation of tourism development is to become a champion for urban and interurban transport, something that unfortunately seems to be far from Albania 2030.
Currently, the exact figures of vehicles operating for the transport of citizens are difficult to say, since, in addition to those who hold a license, informal operators are also flourishing. Meanwhile, from some official data provided by the DPTRRSH, it is understood that in our country there are 245 licensed companies and 1855 vehicles - buses for passenger transport. There are 936 vehicles operating in the capital's terminals, 320 in Durrës, 132 in Vlora, 141 in Gjirokastër and 127 in Shkodër. But, although the points of the stations are called terminals, they must meet certain conditions, which are rarely encountered in our country.
Tourists, looking for the terminal
Lily, like many of her compatriots in the United Kingdom, chose to spend her summer vacation in Albania. In the conversation with her, you realize how much she has heard about our country, where a large part of the information is not so positive, but the young woman was amazed by the beauties she saw in the media. Speaking about her plans on the Albanian coast, she does not forget to mention the challenges, where intercity transport takes first place.
"We learned that you pay for the ticket on the bus and we didn't get it in advance. For us it was not a big problem, but it would be better if there was more transparency, because we often have doubts, whether there will be free seats or not", says the young woman, who booked online. a large part of the infrastructure needed for it.
Lily says that she has not encountered any difficulties in finding the stations in the city, but this is thanks to the help of local residents, since, according to her, it is impossible to find information boards or information online, as in many countries of the world, where Google Maps is used. Finding boards with information about city and intercity transport at the station is impossible, according to her.
"I'm surprised, it's not normal", - says the young woman, who adds that if there was a guide map, it would be more practical, especially for those who are tourists.
The lack of information in the terminals of intercity lines is a problem even for the Albanian citizens themselves. Adelajda Lika, who has been living in Tirana for several years, notices a lack of information. "I often use the Tirana-Elbasan bus line and there are buses every hour, until 1900. To be honest, the information in the terminal is insufficient regarding the lines and schedules," he says, adding that the only thing what distinguishes the buses from each other is a piece of paper with the name of the city, placed on the mosque.
"It's not a problem for me, as I'm used to this way, but if it was someone who doesn't know the country, I think they would encounter problems," she says.
For the chairman of the Urban and Interurban Transport Association, Dashnor Memaj, problems with transport start from the grassroots.
"The operators are not ready to have a quality service", he says, adding that the reason is related to the fact that this service has been in economic crisis for a long time. "Every request of ours, economic or political, has fallen on deaf ears from the institutions and no such measures have been taken to improve the public transport sector", he concludes.
For Mr. Memaj, what has become an obstacle is the infrastructure and the lack of attention of the institutions to have functional transport; the lack of an application in public transport to understand when a bus is coming, which is the line or what are the online ticket payments. And while work is being done on the realization of the eTransport application for intercity transport, Memaj needs attention in other elements as well.
"Besides this, functional terminals and intermediate stations are also needed. We hope that with the arrival of so many tourists, the state will put its finger on the head, so that there will be an essential intervention in this sector, together with us, because we know this work fundamentally, knowing where it limps and where it is necessary to intervene", he says.
e-Transport, but until now the ticket is paid in cash
If you have traveled abroad even once, the best guide has been Google Maps, not only to orient yourself in the new country, but also giving you options on how to travel from point A to point B. If you are a tourist in Albania, the best guide is again Google Maps, but it is difficult to find travel options. With a simple search, where the departure point we set was Durrës and the arrival point Vlora, only 2 options are offered to cover the distance of 123 kilometers: by private vehicle for 1 hour and 27 minutes or to travel for 2 days on foot .
On the other hand, with a general search on the Google search engine, you can find where the bus terminal is located in Durres and where it is located in Vlora. It also states that there are buses between the two coastal cities every 30 minutes, with the first leaving the terminal at 530 AM and the last at 1800, but this is an answer generated from information from private transport agencies, which are dozens.
"I can mention that only in the intercity transport there are 211 operators, operating more than 400 lines, that is to say, to make them all good or at the right level, it is impossible", - says Dashnor Memaj, who adds that the part most operators try their best to comply with the rules.
Mr. Memaj is enthusiastic about the eTransport application, saying: "This application will solve many problems of this sector and will highlight, if an operator is in a financial crisis, how many tickets an operator will expect, as well as what obligations to pay to the state". According to him, this channels every action taken by the operators, but also provides a better service for the citizens.
On 02.12.2022, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the General Directorate of Road Transport Services signed the agreement for the further development and promotion of tourism. In this agreement, the launch of the eTransport platform was agreed, through which the digitization of intercity transport and the management of the flow of passengers on intercity transport lines had to be realized. Among other things, this agreement aims to improve the travel experience through standardization, safety and accessibility of travelers and foreign tourists, as well as forwarding the statistics of the total flow of travelers to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
According to the data, data for 520 lines, 242 operators and 2282 vehicles have been registered on the eTransport platform.
Also, information such as departure and arrival times, line changes during a journey from one destination to another, stations that are traversed, are included. But what stands out is the fact that on this platform you cannot reserve or buy a ticket, a simple process that is used in many countries around the world. Meanwhile, as far as standardization is concerned, it is enough to stay only 10 minutes in one of the capital's terminals, where you can see with your eyes that it will be a challenge to find more than 2 identical vehicles for the same line.
Another noticeable problem is the lack of connection of eTransport with Google Services. Google Maps is undoubtedly one of the Services most used by tourists in the countries they visit, and the non-integration of eTransport means that in many cities of Albania, the possibility of traveling to them by bus is missing from this platform.
DPSHTRR sees the application as the key to solving many problems encountered by intercity transport in Albania, starting from the removal of informal transport, to increasing transparency and buying tickets online, giving the traveler detailed information. Although in the DPSHTRR's response, the problems that are requested to be addressed through this application, which this institution itself qualifies as "a success story in the era of online Services", are major for the proper functioning of intercity transport, the true proof of its operation the summer of 2024 remains.
Municipalities, still far from improving public transport
If you land at Hanja airport, one of two airports on the island of Crete, an island roughly the size of Albania, there are buses not more than 100 meters from the exit door, which take you from the airport to the city. In a booth very close to the buses, displayed on the glass, are the timetables, bus numbers and ticket prices. This bus takes you to the central terminal of Chania, from where you can take a bus to any city or town on the island.
However, at the airport of Tirana, bus transport to the capital is different. The bus, whose ticket costs 400 lek, does not have a terminal in the capital, but its stop is behind the Opera and Ballet Theater, meanwhile, as for the schedules, they are not given on the website of the airport.
The situation of intercity bus terminals leaves much to be desired throughout the country. Currently, there are two terminals in the Albanian capital, one for the south-north zone and another for the southeast, but both of these terminals are provisional. Although in an official response the Municipality of Tirana says that in the temporary terminals there are informative signs for citizens about the destinations that operate in the terminal, during an observation carried out by the ACQJ, at no point in these terminals is there an information board about which bus goes where. what are their schedules or the price of the ticket. You can only get this information by asking the drivers or the cashiers inside the terminal, but for a foreign tourist it would be a challenge to get such information, where the only distinguishing sign of the bus route is a letter on the first mosque with the name of the city, which has as its final destination.
While in the coastal city of Vlora, which is one of the favorite destinations for tourists, there is only one terminal, for which the city's municipality officially says that "there have been no investments, but the lines and schedules are posted on a board, where intercity transport Services are performed".
The lack of investment also appears in the two terminals in the northern capital, Shkodër. Meanwhile, even though in recent years Gjirokastra is experiencing a very large increase in tourism, this city still does not have a dedicated terminal for intercity lines. Officially, the municipality of this city told ACQJ that since 2022 it is working with the project for the construction of a terminal.
Meanwhile, the Municipality of Berat has set up a terminal for intercity trips outside the city. "This terminal offers the timetables of interurban transport and is an important improvement for intercity transport", - this municipality officially states.
"We have tied Greece and we have just passed Italy for the number of tourists per capita", - said the Prime Minister, Edi Rama, on August 10.
The good news is that only in the first 8 months of 2023, Albania had a number of tourists over 7.2 million. But, even though the figures are high, the development of the tourism sector must be done in parallel with the development of its supporting sectors, where the transport sector is undoubtedly one of the most important, but which is still far from a country's transport system with ambitions to become the champion of tourism in the region.
This article is part of the Investigative Journalism Laboratory project, which is financially supported by the Public Relations Office of the US Embassy in Tirana. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of State.
