FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Korça of serenades, skiing in Dardhe, and vacationing near Lake Pogradec remain among the most popular weekend options for many citizens from Tirana or other cities in Albania.
But the blockage of the Librazhd-Përrenjas road after the landslide has caused these cities to be emptied of domestic and foreign tourists.
Hotel and restaurant businesses in Korça and Pogradec unanimously claim that since Saturday, following the blockade of the Librazhd-Përrenjas axis, they are facing a lack of new reservations for the weekend. They consider the road blockade as an event that "stabbed" the southeast from the rest of Albania, due to the interruption of the main road connection and the temporary isolation of the area.
Sokrat Tasho, representative of the "Ski-Pista Bigëll" resort in Dardhe, told "Monitor" that on Sunday, a day after the roadblock incident, visitors immediately emptied the ski slope and the sleeping villas.
"The incident of the Librazhd-Përrenjas road blockage separated Korça from Tirana "like a knife", since most of our clients are local. The main weight is held by tourists from Tirana. While the number of foreign tourists is lower, compared to local ones, this is due to the small reception capacities that we have. So the main visitors to the ski slope are visitors from Tirana. If on Saturday the number of visitors was normal, immediately on Sunday after the road blockage the entire slope and the villas were emptied.
Many of the local customers were disoriented, as they did not know which alternative route they would use to return to Tirana, while others were reluctant to return via the North Macedonian route, as they had not received their passports or cards. Meanwhile, foreign tourists appeared calmer as they mainly travel in camping vans.
In addition to the ski slope, the resort, a structure built for years in Albania, also offers accommodation in wooden villas. The resort has 9 wooden villas, which are normally always booked during the month of February, due to the cold weather and the presence of snow, both during the weekdays and for the weekends.
Sokrat Tasho says that currently there are no tourists in the wooden houses, but he has not received any new reservations. Tasho predicts that there will be a lack of visitors in the coming days, until the road is repaired.
"No citizen from Tirana takes the trouble to come to the Dardha ski slope and describe a travel itinerary that lasts up to 6 hours. It was the proximity to Tirana that influenced the frequency of the ski slope," underlines Mr. Tasho.
The situation is similar for hotel reservations in Pogradec and restaurants with live music in Korça.
Representatives of "Vila Cofiel", known in the city of Korça for offering traditional local food and weekends with serenade music, also claim that they have not received any new reservations, while in normal times, weekend reservations would close on Monday.
"Overall, in the city of Korça, it is noticeable that there is a lack of tourists and this is due to the road blockage. The road blockage separated Korça "like a knife" from the rest of Albania. For our restaurant, weekend reservations always close on Monday. And this happens in every period, both in summer and winter. While for this week we have not received any new reservations and I think this is due to the road blockage."
The phone is not ringing for new reservations even for hotels in the city of Pogradec.
Markel Bimbli from "Vila Bimbli" in Pogradec told "Monitor" that so far he has not received any new reservations for a stay at the hotel over the weekend.
Bimbli says that the reservation period for accommodation in the city of Pogradec usually begins in March, but during the winter season, reservations, although few for weekends, are not lacking, mainly from tourists from Tirana.
"Despite the low number, there is no shortage of hotel reservations, mainly for weekends, during this period. I think that the total lack of new reservations is influenced by the road blockage. For many citizens, traveling on alternative routes is not comfortable, as it takes more hours and has additional costs, especially if you travel through North Macedonia, where you also need to have vehicle insurance."
Vegetable prices increase by up to 50%
Meanwhile, the blockade of the highway has also affected the supply of food products. In the Pogradec market, consumers are reporting increases in vegetable prices of 20 to 50%.
Brunilda Shpendi, a teacher in the city, says that the price of cucumbers has increased from 200 lek/kg to 300 lek/kg. Tomatoes have gone from 200 lek/kg to 250 lek/kg, while peppers have increased from 200 lek/kg to 250 lek/kg.
"The market has a shortage of products in circulation. Most of the goods we trade come from imports. The road has disrupted our work, we are unable to bring in enough goods, but above all, it is coming at a higher cost from transportation," say the traders, emphasizing that the difficulties in transportation are being directly reflected in prices for consumers.
In some cases, there has also been an increase in van ticket prices of up to 40% for the Tirana-Korça route.
But when will the new road be built?
To unblock the passage to the southeast, the Albanian Road Authority is committed to building a new axis along the Shkumbin River. However, no deadline has been given yet for when these works will be completed and when passage to the Southeast cities will be enabled through the Librazhd axis./Monitor
Lini një Përgjigje