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One of the main proposed changes is granting the Council of Ministers the authority to suspend construction works in tourist areas during the tourist season...
A new draft law for amendments to the law "On Tourism", submitted to the Assembly by the Head of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group, Taulant Balla, aims to strengthen tourism development standards in Albania through a series of measures that affect construction in tourist areas, the functioning of accommodation structures and the administration of beaches.
One of the main proposed changes is to give the Council of Ministers the authority to suspend construction works in tourist areas during the tourist season. According to the draft law, the decision will determine the areas where the suspension will apply, the types of works that are prohibited, the period of implementation and, if necessary, the hours during which construction will not be allowed. The suspension period will be calculated as an extension of the deadline for construction permits, so that entities do not lose their rights.
The draft law also introduces changes to the way accommodation structures are categorized and classified. One innovation is the imposition of an obligation for investors to obtain a preliminary categorization certificate before approving a construction permit for hotels and other accommodation structures. Meanwhile, the categories and classification criteria will no longer be directly defined in the law, but by decision of the Council of Ministers, with the aim of making the system more flexible and responsive to market developments.
Another change relates to electronic customer registration. Accommodation structures will be required to electronically record data on visitors, nights of stay, citizenship, residence, gender and age, for statistical and administrative purposes, while respecting the legislation on the protection of personal data.
The draft law also provides for measures to protect public access to the coastline. Beach station operators will be required to guarantee the free passage of citizens to the sea and along the coast, while the installation of fences, walls or other obstacles that restrict this access is prohibited. Violation of this obligation will be punished with a fine of up to 200 thousand lek, while failure to respect the suspension of works during the tourist season will be punished with a fine of 2 million lek.
The accompanying report argues that construction during the tourist season has created negative impacts on the quality of services, safety, traffic and tourist experience over the years. According to the drafters of the initiative, the changes aim to balance the public interest in tourism development with the rights of investors, by providing that the suspension period be compensated by extending the deadlines for construction permits.
According to the report, the draft law does not bring additional costs to the state budget and is mainly procedural in nature, while its implementation will be entrusted to the Ministry responsible for tourism, the Council of Ministers, the authorities that issue construction permits, the National Business Center and local self-government units.
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