FLASH
Shkruar nga Antonio Leggieri
Wherever the Americans step, they only bring price increases and no benefits for the local residents. Sazani could turn into a boomerang for the people of Vlorë and beyond...
We have a problem with America. Some would say that, especially at this moment in history, there is actually more than one problem. But I work in the travel industry, so I focus on my field. The problem, which I consider serious and, unfortunately, with no solution in sight, is this: American tourism is driving up prices in many cities around the world.
You don't need to be a Cambridge economist to understand why: despite the rampant inflation that has eroded their purchasing power in recent years, the wages of Americans, especially those living on the West and East coasts, are significantly higher than the wages earned by those living in the countries that Americans visit every year .
This shift leads to an effect known as “tourism gentrification”: when tourists from higher-income economies, such as the United States, flock to certain destinations, they are willing to pay higher prices for accommodation, restaurants and services. Local operators therefore raise prices to maximise profits, making the experience inaccessible or less affordable for tourists from lower-middle-income countries and, in many cases, even for the local population.
Over the past 15 years, I've visited 60 countries and I've noticed that Americans are everywhere. However, they prefer certain destinations: Mexico, the Caribbean (Costa Rica is their enclave), Japan, Thailand and many European countries, including England, Spain, France and Italy.
Italy is among the three favorite destinations of the Yankees: the rising cost of living in cities like Milan, Rome and Venice, the latter recently monopolized by Jeff Bezos and his wife, are clear evidence. Of course, not all the blame lies with American tourists and their salaries. As always, politics is the main accomplice of overspending.
I fear that, in a few years, another destination, geographically very close to Italy, will be destined to end up in the melting pot of overtourism destinations. I am talking, for those who have not understood, about Albania. The early rumors about the interest of Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner in the island of Sazan, in the Bay of Vlora, have been confirmed.
According to the Guardian, Donald Trump's daughter and the New Jersey-born real estate developer intend to transform the island into a new 'mecca' for ultra-luxury tourism once the unexploded ordnance clearance is complete. The investment, estimated at around $1 billion, will add to the couple's real estate portfolio, which vividly embodies Trumpian neo-Zionist turbo-capitalism.
So, while Leonardo DiCaprio recently purchased the island of Guafo, in Chile, to protect it from mining and deforestation, Sazani is poised to become an exclusive paradise for a few, while Albania as a whole risks becoming another laboratory of gentrification disguised as tourism development.
I said before that politics always bears a large part of the blame. According to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, " Albania needs luxury tourism just like a desert needs water ."
Rama does not know, or pretends not to know, that the flow of capital always brings inflation: in the coming years, the investment of Trump and his wife will slowly expel many residents from the Vlora district, pushed to the margins by an economy that rewards only those who can afford to buy, build or speculate .
According to Monitor magazine, Albania has already seen an average increase in hotel prices of 25-30 percent in 2024. The highest increases were recorded in the south, from Vlora, the main city in the Vlora district, to Ksamil and Saranda. While in 2023, you could book a hotel in the center of Vlora for 40-50 euros per night, today (just do a search on Booking.com) it is difficult to find anything under 70-90 euros, even for mid-range properties. And it is not uncommon for prices to exceed 200 euros per night for hotels with a sea view.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Americans are not the only tourists driving this trend. Germans, for example, have been indirectly responsible for the significant price increases in Croatia over the last 10-15 years: many Italians, our purchasing power is significantly lower than that of Germans, Americans, British and often even our Spanish and French cousins, had no choice but to exclude this country from their list of favorite destinations. One of the last low-cost destinations near us was Albania.
It is time for international tourism to take its course and then, with our meager salaries, we will not even be able to afford holidays with those we considered our poor neighbors. /Adapted from “Pamfleti” by “Il Fatto Quotidiano”
Ride bene chi ride dopo. .