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Although it was declared that 'not a single cent' was spent on the media promotion of Albania as a tourist destination this year, data obtained by BIRN show that the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourism Agency pay for documentaries as well as accommodation and food for journalists and bloggers foreign.
At the beginning of September, members of the government cabinet gathered at the "Millennium" cinema for the premiere of the documentary "Treasures of the Adriatic - Albania" by the well-known British historian and author, Bettany Hughes.
In the ceremony that preceded the screening, the Minister of Culture, Elva Margariti, considered it "another promotion of Albania", while the Minister of Tourism, Mirela Kumbaro emphasized that the documentary had been shown on the BBC and expected it to reach "millions and millions of viewers". .
What was not told to the public was the fact that the documentary "Treasures of the Adriatic" was part of a campaign by the Ministry of Culture for the media promotion of tourism this summer season and was supported with a fund of 28.7 million ALL.
And he wasn't the only one.
The Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the National Tourism Agency told BIRN in response to requests for the right to information that they had spent about 61 million lek together for the media promotion of tourism inside and outside the country during the period 2022-2023.
In addition to the documentary shown on the BBC, the Ministry of Tourism said that it had supported the "Dritan Hoxha" Foundation with 8 million lek for the production of the show "Holidays on Top 2023" and with 4 million lek the "Dritare" center of journalist Rudina Xhunga for the production of a promotional cycle with the title "Albania, where else!".
While the National Tourism Agency told BIRN that as an institution responsible for the promotion of Albania, it had covered the accommodation and food expenses of bloggers, journalists and production staff who have promoted Albania in different countries such as France, Germany, Serbia with a value of about 2.3 million ALL in total.
Also, the Agency said that it had spent 7.7 million ALL for the promotion of the application "TEA- Tourism of Events Albania" as well as 10.2 million ALL for participation in ITB Berlin - one of the largest tourism fairs in the world.
According to the Agency, the implementation of marketing policies in the field of tourism aimed at "creating the image of Albania as a tourist destination in the international market".
The Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro speaking during a press conference on tourism. Photo: LSA.
Once Europe's most isolated country, Albania turned into a popular tourist destination this summer, as dozens of articles about the "unknown pearl of the Mediterranean" circulated in the international media. The articles were then shared on the Facebook pages of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Tourism Minister Mirela Kumbaro and other government officials.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, 8.3 million foreign visitors visited Albania during the first 9 months of the year - a success that, according to an interview of Minister Kumbaro for the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica", "not a single cent" was spent on media promotion.
Promotion through TV shows, social platforms or marketing campaigns are a common practice of tourist promotion of a country and according to tourism experts, one of the factors of this year's tourist success. Other factors are considered natural beauty or still low cost.
However, a detailed analysis is needed to understand the impact of the strategy followed with the promotion.
"The Ministry must constantly monitor the performance of the campaigns and adapt the strategy based on the results to achieve success in promoting tourism in Albania," said Albana Çule, expert in the field of tourism and economic and rural development.
According to her, the same applies to applications or fairs.
"The effectiveness of the fairs depends on how Albania is presented, how contacts and agreements are secured, and how convinced the operators are to offer tourist packages in Albania," concluded Çule.
Ministry of Tourism and Environment
The documentary "Treasures of the Adriatic, Albania" 28,705,002 ALL.
The project of the "Dritan Hoxha" Foundation in the amount of 8,000,000 ALL.
The project of the "Dritare" Center in the amount of 4,000,000 ALL.
National Tourism Agency
Realization of the show for Albania with a focus on tourism 114,330 ALL
Travel of journalists, publicists, photographers... on the promotion in the German market 464,647 ALL
D18 Company France, documentary "Albania, the pearl of the Mediterranean" 403,725 ALL
Journalists for the purpose of promotion in the German market on "Radio GONG " 288,651 ALL
Serbian bloggers for the promotion of Albania 185,120 ALL
Group of German journalists, experts "Promotion of Post-Covid-19 Albania" 40,000 ALL
Foreign journalists participating in the fair "ITE Days" 457,000 ALL
Tour German operators from DRV 364,000 ALL
Promotion of the application TEA - Tourism of Events Albania 740,000 ALL
Participation in the fair ITB Berlin 10, 278, 546 ALL
/BIRN
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