Author: Dallandyshe Xhaferri
The challenge of people with disabilities to rest
Despite welcoming over 1.5 million tourists in just the first three months of the year, Albania's growing tourism sector still presents significant barriers to travelers with special needs. While tourists like Adivie Hasa and Elida Çela talk about their challenges, reminding us of the lack of infrastructure and attention for this category of vacationers.
Adivie Hasa, 33 years old, is sitting at a restaurant table smelling the sea in the hope that near nature she will be able to recall all its colors.
Almost two decades ago, when she was 10 years old, she lost her sight due to high fever. Despite being surrounded by darkness, the desire to "escape" to the coast has remained as strong as in childhood.
But the 33-year-old's desire to break out of the daily routine becomes challenging, especially during the holidays. Difficulties range from waiter service to the inability of hotels to provide the necessary service, elevator accessibility, lack of ramps, while looking for a menu in Braille (the alphabet for the blind) seems like an excessive luxury.
"I asked the waiter to read me the menu and he said: Here you have it! - she says for "Signalizo".
"I go on vacation with my family, but the receptionists and waiters never ask me how I want something, or when I want it. They ask my family members, but I can and want to answer for myself", - says Adivija.
People with special needs in Albania are not considered even when they are welcomed as tourists.
Elida Çela, another visually impaired girl, tells "Sinjalizo" that she would never dare to spend the holidays alone or with her company that has the same limitations.
Çela says that being a tourist with special needs is not easy at all.
"We go to budget hotels and the elevators are not functional, while there are no ramps"- says Çela.
Touristic Albania, but not for everyone
During the first three months of this year, Albania welcomed more than 1.5 million tourists, but the provision of tourist Services remains a denied right for tourists with special needs, whether foreign or domestic tourists.
In the Albanian law on tourism there is no provision for access to tourism for persons with disabilities. This group of tourists is left out even in National Tourism Strategy 2019-2023, in which no measures have been taken to guarantee tourism for people with special needs.
Rrahman Kasa has been working as a tourist operator for 24 years and is also the Chairman of the Albanian Tourist Union. He says that in addition to human resources in the tourism sector, accommodation capacities remain problematic in relation to the number of tourists coming to Albania, as well as road infrastructure. However, according to him, tourists with special needs are not a priority for entrepreneurs in this sector.
"There are countries with 60-70 years of experience in the field of tourism and they have not yet divided them into such categories, because no entrepreneur can undertake to make such an investment for the few requests that may have" ,- says Kasa, while admitting that there is a lack of hotels built for disabled people in Albania.
According to the data published in the National Tourism Strategy 2019-2023, 2437 accommodation structures operate in the country, of which 65% are hotels and the rest houses and rooms.
"Also, according to the KKB data, 75 tourist operators and 322 travel agencies have been licensed in the country with a different distribution in the districts, with the vast majority of them concentrated in Tirana",- it is further written in the National Strategy.
Disabled tourists, missing beach
Fatos Cerenishti, an entrepreneur in the field of tourism, shows that competition has positively influenced the improvement of Services in the Albanian hotel industry, however, only a few spaces are available to tourists with disabilities.
"Since 2014, we have had tourism with organized groups in Albania. The Czechs and Slovaks were the first, during 2015-2016 organized groups of tourists from Scandinavian countries came and this year we are trying to have as many groups of British tourists as possible for 2025", - says Cerenishti.
The construction of new hotels, mainly in the last 10 years by foreign and Albanian architects, according to Cerenishti, has enabled the provision of new Services in the rooms of customers, not only offering sleeping in the room.
However, only 2%-3% of the capacities are available to tourists with special needs who want to spend their holidays on the coast, while in Albania we live more than 140 thousand people with disabilities.
"We have separate rooms for them, but not many. Until now, their number has been limited and we have managed to cope with it", - says Cerenishti, adding that in the resort that he has been running for years, several swimming pools are available to tourists, which makes it possible for tourists with special needs to have a choice.
But, local tourists are not always able to frequent resorts or hotels with high prices for their living costs.
Elida Çela, during the interview, brings back the difficulty of financially affording a 2-week vacation on the Albanian coast due to salty prices.
"In the hotels I go to, both ramps and elevators are missing",- says Elida, while for Eligerta Saden with limited ability to walk, Albanian beaches do not offer any alternative for her target group of tourists.
"There is no equipment or infrastructure so that you can stay on the seashore and be safe. Or any device that can pull you out of the sea,”- says Eligerta for "Signalizo".
For the 26-year-old, it is necessary to have a beach in Albania only for people with disabilities, but it has not yet been realized.
In 2022, a beach was opened in Golem i Kavaja only for people with disabilities. There was a bouncy chair in it, which was out of order due to lack of maintenance.
The lack of necessary Services in hotels and the lack of adequate infrastructure on the beaches make summer vacations, or not only, a difficult challenge for local tourists. Although tourism in Albania is growing, care for the needs of this category of tourists remains minimal, turning vacations into a denied right.
Albania's picturesque coastline and bustling resorts may paint the picture for a wonderful vacation, but for many of its disabled visitors, the reality is far from idyllic. Lack of basic accommodations such as ramps, functional elevators and specially equipped rooms turn vacations into a logistical challenge. Until radical changes are made, the right to a holiday in Albania, unfortunately, remains a privilege and not a universal right for everyone.
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
