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'The Economist': Jared Kushner has it easier in Albania than Albanians themselves

2025-07-18 14:10:21Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

“The Archers,” a BBC radio soap opera about rural English life, is listened to by over 4 million people in a typical week. This summer, the show’s famous family was considering a vacation in Albania. Until recently, the country was considered dangerous and wild. But the idea that “The Archers” might visit Albania reflects its transformation into a major tourist destination with unexpected consequences.

During communism, Albania welcomed about 5,000 tourists a year. Tirana had only two hotels for foreigners; in restaurants outside the city, the menu might consist of just a can of tuna with a green onion.

But by 2014, the country was hosting around 3.4 million foreign visitors, while last year the official number reached 11 million. That number is a bit misleading: many of them are members of the Albanian diaspora with foreign passports, who visit several times a year and are counted as visitors each time. Nevertheless, it is clear that tourism is booming.

Hotels and villa complexes are springing up along the coast. A new airport is expected to open soon to serve Vlora, a beach destination in the south. Although diaspora Albanians are not classic tourists, they buy holiday apartments, go to the beach and go out to eat like everyone else. Real estate agencies advertise in Russian. Italians come for cheap dental services.

Kosovars now complain that Turkey is cheaper. Overtourism is becoming a concern, while once-small resorts like Saranda and Ksamil are filling up. Hotels, due to a shortage of qualified staff, are hiring Filipinos.

The tourism boom is creating headaches for a limited resource, water. In principle, Albania has enough water. But after a century of underinvestment, cities are facing shortages. With the construction boom on the coast, pipes are being laid to divert water from the interior of the country. Residents there say they already have little water for themselves and their fields; now it is being diverted to fill foreigners’ swimming pools.

One sensational case concerns plans to divert water from the Shushicë River towards the tourist area of Himara.

Most of Shushica is located within a national park. Astrit Balilaj, the headman of Kuç village, one of more than 30 protesting villages, says the river used to have more water; climate change is reducing it. Local officials have made their concerns known to higher authorities, “but we were ignored.”

Olsi Nika, head of the environmental group EcoAlbania, says that if Shushica loses more water, the entire region's ecosystem will be damaged. He also mentions illegally built tourist restaurants inside the park and oil spills from poorly maintained wells outside it.

Last year, angry residents in Dukat, south of Vlora, blocked work on a €9m project to divert water to luxury seaside developments. In March, residents of the neighbouring village of Tragjas clashed with police over the same project. Prime Minister Edi Rama says there is water for everyone. That would be true, says Mr Nika, if the state had planned for the long term.

“The government only cares about its own interests,” says Salibe Daupi, who runs a local restaurant.

“They have to take care of us.”

Even tourism restrictions can anger locals. Last week in Theth, a mountain village in the north, protesters threw Molotov cocktails at construction workers who were demolishing illegally built cabins for mountaineers. The owners said the government had promised to legalize them.

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, has had more luck with the Albanian government. He wants to build a resort in Zvërnec, a pristine area between the Adriatic and the Narta lagoon, a haven for flamingos.

He also wants to develop Sazan Island, 10km away. Shortly before Trump's inauguration, Albania approved initial plans for a €1.4 billion investment in Sazan.

Zvërnec, however, is located in a protected area. EcoAlbania is challenging the government in court over a new law that allows luxury developments in these areas. If his plans go ahead, Mr. Kushner will expect the government to provide water sources for both.

Nika says that fighting the rich and powerful who usually get what they want in Albania is exhausting. But hope, like water, always flows. Until it is diverted.


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