The 1th International Conference
for Graduate Research in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure
1 October 2010 -Shkoder, Albania
“PEEPING” TOURIST
A CASE STUDY
OF diffuso.
THE UNIQUE STATE TOURIST
Albergo
AGENCY IN ALBANIA
Developing tourism through
innovation and tradition.
ALBTURIST
The case of Albania
BRUNILDA LIҪAJ - Candidate PhD
“A. Moisiu” University - Durres, Albania
ARMADA MOLLA - MSs
Chairwoman – ADCT
Association for Brunilda
DevelopmentLiçaj
of Cultural
Tourism, Tirana Albania
Lecturer “ A.Moisiu” University of Durrës
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES
 To analyze the development of the Albanian tourism under State Agency
called ALBTURIST (1956-1990)
 To make present the role of Albturist “promoting” the Albanian tourism
 To enlight the role of Albturist in surveillance of tourists
METHODOLOGY - Research and analysis
Resources:
 Original records from the Albanian State Archives
 Articles published both in Albanian and foreign press of that period
 Memories of former employees of this agency
KEYWORDS: tourism, communism period, promotion, tourist survey, intelligence
surveillance
2
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TABLES OF CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
2. THE ALBANIAN TOURISM DURING THE COMMUNIST ERA
3. THE STATE TOURISM ENTERPRISE “ALBTURIST”
4. “PEEPING TOURIST”
5. CONCLUSION
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3
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INTRODUCTION –KEY FACT-1

The tourism sector in Albania experienced a
late development ;

The earliest investments through the
beginning of 20th century;

1928 King Zog speaks about the
improvements that he wanted to do in
order to attract tourists;

1933 founded “The Tourism and
Albanian automotive Club”;

1939 The first Albanian Guide in Italian
Language ;
First edition of
“Guida dell’Albania”
Touring Club Italiano 1939
4
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INTRODUCTION –KEY FACT- 2
The touristic Albanian property
layout consist off:

8 Historical centers,
 75 town,
 115 religion cults
(Churches, Monasteries,
Mosque, hundred
bridges)etc
Source: VLORA. K. A.(1979)
La nuova Albania
5
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GRAND HOTEL ELBASAN ‘30
6
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ABANIAN TOURISTIC ASSETS & INFRASTRUCTURE
Kulla e Sahatit
Tirana Clock Tower
1822
Xhamia e Haxhi Ethem Beut'
E’Them Bey Mosque
1794-1821 (building period)
The famous Kafja e Madhe
The Grand Café
Or Grand Hotel SAVOIA
Shkodra
Source : Albanian State’s Archive
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ALBANIAN TOURISM 1945-1990
The services
have influence in the distribution of prosperity,
but
they do not have influence in
GDP configuration
Government was
the only
authority of
tourism
monopoly
Based its policy
on the ideology
of Karl Marx's
theory
Marginal role
in the economy
8
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ALBANIAN TOURISM DURING THE COMMUNIST ERA
Table 1: The distribution of the balneary
center in national level
Communist ideology:

Private property was
totally abolished;

Socialist property of two
typically forms;

the state property

the cooperatives
Years
1970
1975
1980
1987
Balneary
center
6
6
6
6
405
640
700
640
Beds
Vacantioner 6.871
8.666
11.759 13.523
Source: ISTAT Albania
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THE TOURISTIC PRODUCTS DURING
THE COMMUNIST REGIME (1945-1990)
Massive tourism
The Tourism of Events
The private Tourism
Medical Tourism
Albturist
Tourism in holiday villages
Tourism in the government
holidays centers
10
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STATE TOURISM ENTREPRISE- ALBTURIST
ALBTURIST: Founded 1956
Specific condition:
 Alliances between the socialist
camp countries;
 KNER (Council of Mutual
Emergency Aid) meeting held in
1956)
“Albania should be the
touristic destination for the KNER's
countries”
11
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ALBTURIST ACTIVITIES
Main directions
Network
Of
Hotel Tourism
Bus network
Albturist
“Promotion”
of Tourism as
Demagogy
12
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ALBTURIST TOURISM HOTEL AND STATISTICS
ALBTURIST HOTEL
Table 2: The foreign tourists in Albania recorded in several years
Source: ISTAT Albania
Years
Nr. of
tourist
Presents
Over night
Income
($)
1956
280
3.612
12.09
23.000
1960
6065
85.516
14.01
409.000
1970
3.531
19.985
7.09
380.000
1980
3.748
39.491
10.05
1.475.000
1. Hotel Vollga Durres ( 1938)
2. Hotel Dajti Tirane ( 1939-1943)
Capacity 98 luxury room
3. King Zog's summer residence
4. Hotel Adriatic (1958) 54 rooms
(3 suites and 51 double rooms)
5. Hotel Apollonia ((1961-1962)
6. Hotel Kruja (1961-1962)
7. Hotel Durresi (1961-1962)
8. Hotel Gjirokastra ( 1963)
9. Hotel Fieri (1965)
10. Hotel Vlora,
11. Hotel Korca
12. Hotel Shkodra,
13. Hotel Saranda
14. Hotel Drini etc.,
13
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FOREIGN VISITOR ORIGINE
The role of ALBTURIST
Before 1961
change when it starts to
organize
National Folk Festivals
Soviet Union
Czech
Comunist
block
1961-1980
France
China
Austria
Italy, Sweden
14
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AEROPORT : ONLY ENTRANCE
Aircraft companies
 JAT
 Malev
Interflug
Swiss Air (1968 )Tirana to Zurich
Lufthansa 1987
E. Hoxha: Chez nous le tourisme n'est pas
une industrie ni un moyen de corruption et
de vagabondage.
“the man bearded travelers were shave off and
cut the long hairs, while
Statistics
1960-1990
The Albanian Tourism Statistics
shown a law scale of tourism
industry development which range
to 1.6% of the tourism industry
developed in the Albanian’
neighbors Greece or Yugoslavia
dressed on
western
the female tourists
miniscirts and long trausers ala-
style
replaced
with
local
dress
produced in the country, before they cross the
borders”
Source: The memories of a German journalist:
“Der Spiegel” 30.06.1975
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TOURISTIC PROPAGANDA OF ALBTURIST propaganda
HOTEL ALBTURIST PROMOTION’S LEAFLETS
BROCHURES
• Albanie Pays de Tourism (Albturist
1958)
• Guide d'Albanie (avec un petit Manuel de
conversation) Albturist, 1958
• Albanien. A Handbook for New vanner,
vetgiriga Stockholm 1976
• pocket-size Tourist guide book was
published in the late 1960 (Albturist, 1969)
Even this....
Hall
described the role of Albturist:
'the tourist finds his/her role
becoming one of passive sponge'
Source : Archiva of States
16
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PEEPING TOURIST
17
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TOURIST FACTS
1.
Entry visa system in Albania was very tight
2. People from Israel, USA, and South Africa were not allowed
3. Visitors should follow the rules in terms of behavior and way of dressing
4. Not allowed for religious materials or other materials against the ideology of the
state
5. Not allowed cameras and photographic equipments
6. Tourist group no more than 30 person, organised with bus
7. Tourism in Albania developed just after the Enver Hoxha’s death (1985)
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GUIDES AND MAGAZINES dedicated ALBANIA
Dutch Magazine:
International Times 1979
ALBANIE
Emanuel ZAKHOS
Petite Planète
19
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TOURISTS ‘ REAMRKS
Albturist have shiny and new
coaches for trucking visitors
around…
…You feel embarrassingly flash
and it's like being in a fish tank
being peered at like human
UFOs, even though you're
wearing your drabbest gear.
…You're not allowed to take
local buses or go off alone
anywhere.
The hotels, mainly- Russian built,
are huge with vast ' dining halls with
pillars, chandeliers, drapes and
marble floors
Source: The memories of a German journalist:
“Der Spiegel” 30.06.1975
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INSTEAD OF RESORTS.... “MUSHROOMS”
750.000 bunkers were build in Albanian
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MEDIA AND ART in the FUNCTION OF PROPAGANDA
Albanian Filmic fragments show the state
security activities
towards the foreign
touris (“Peeping tourist”)
An extremely sophisticated surveillance of
the foreign visitors “the rhetoric of
xenophobia of the Albanian state” in the
name of safety of the host population and
foreign guest.
Albania was the 1st place in East Europe
statistics for the usage of the slogans along its
roads, whose traces are still alive and
inevitable
22
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CONCLUSIONS
1. The fewer interest of the Albanian Communist
Government in development of the Albanian
tourism was as the result of "isolation policy”
of the regime.
2. The need for foreign currency as the result
of trade import & export led the government to
give more attention to the Tourism industry as
the only foreign currency resource.
3. The Tourism role change in the late '80
4. The final countdown begun as the tourists
interest to Albania grow up immediately.
5. Actually, The Albanian tourism has the
helmsman status of the Albanian economy
23
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The promise future of the Albanian Tourism
Albania
easy to get in,
hard to get out
24
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Albania Moving Along, But Slowly, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,Report on Eastern Europe, 2, No. 1, January 5,
1990.
Anamali,S and Adhami,S.(1974Mosaiques de l’Albanie. Tirana:8 Nentori.
Collombon, J.M (2001) Le tourism solidaire en zones rurales du sud de l’Albanie. Technical report.
Ducellier, A.(1981) La facada marittime de L'Albanie au Moyen Age.Insitute for Balkan Studies:Thessaloniques
Economist (1977) “Hoxha's happy land “Economist 263, 14 May 54–7
Economist (1978) “Tales from Albania's beaches” Economist 266, 4 March 50
Freedman, Robert Owen.(1970) Economic Warfare in the Communist Bloc: A Study of Soviet Economic Pressure
Against Yugoslavia, Albania, and Communist China. New York: Praeger,
Hall, D.R. (1994) Albania and the Albanians, Pinter: London
Hall, D.R. (1990) Stalinism and tourism: a study of Albania and North Korea .Annals of Tourism Research 1, 36–54
Hall, Dr. (1984) Foreign tourism under socialism: the Albanian “Stalinist” model. Annals of Tourism Research 11
Jenkins,L.(1976) Albania the land of eagles. Port Talbot Guardian: 13April.
Karin, T (2011). From trips to modernity to holidays in nostalgia: tourism history in eastern and southeastern
Europe.Tension of Europe/ Inventing Europe: Working paper WP_2011
Kaser, M. Albania under and after Enver Hoxha. Joint Economic: United States Congress, 99th, 2d Session,1-21
Marmullaku, R.(1975) Albania and the Albanians” Hamden, New York: Archon Books
P. Sandstorm and O. Sjoberg (1991) Albanian economic performance: Stagnation in the 1980. Soviet Studies,
43(5):931 947
Panarity.M.(1957) Albania: The Rock Garden of Southeastern Europe and Other Essays. Boston: Pan-Albanian
Federation of America
Salmon, S.( 2006) Marketing socialism: Inturist in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Gorsuch A E and Koenker D P
Turizm: the Russian and East European tourist under capitalism and socialism Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY 186–
204
Skendi, S (1956) Albania. New York: Praeger.
25
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Brunilda LICAJ
“A.Moisiu” University Durrës
brunildalicaj@uamd.edu.al
ARMADA MOLLA
ADCT
(Association for Development of Cultural Tourism)
adctinfo@gmail.com
26
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