Standardization of Tourism Industry to Cost €1.2 mln

TIRANA, February 13

The standardization of the tourism sector for the next two years is expected to cost Euro 1.2 million to the Albanian state. According to the plans of the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship, the strategy for the two upcoming years foresees improvements of services and products, increase of demand, competitiveness and quality. More concretely, the plans for 2017 include the licensing process for tour agencies, the classification of accommodation facilities and the certification of tour guides.
Moreover, the monitoring process on the implementation of these standards and others defined in the new tourism law will start in 2018 and continue throughout 2019.
The budget allocated for this reform is Euro 458,000 for 2017 and Euro 786,000 for the next two years.

Moreover, the plans foresee the establishment of the Tourism Inspectorate, which is going to conduct the standardization of subjects. According to experts from the ministry, the reform implementation may include possible risks related to the lack business awareness, financial sources, staff qualification and other administrative obstacles.
Yet, the standardization process is expected to have a direct impact on employment, working force qualification and reduction of informality.
News Source: Monitor