European Strategies for Sustainable Tourist Destinations, Problems & Prospects – The Case of Vlora, Albania

Although tourism is a priority development scenario, Albania is struggling to select a competitive development model. The country’s entry into the international market is producing increased visits primarily driven by curiosity, a motivational factor that hardly ensures repeated visits. Phys­ical development is present, pressure on resources builds on and barely any coordinated actions are taken by regions in the name of long-term compet­itiveness and sustainability. Initiatives such as pilot testing European Tour­ism Indicator System for sustainable management at the destination level in the Vlora region in South Albania, a territory high in demand for tourism services, produced substantial information about the state of development and strategic documents. This paper aims to shed light on regional strate­gies for sustainable development and the level of tourism private sector en­gagement. This serves not only to evaluate the adaptation of the European strategic framework, but it sets the ground for the mobilization of local en­terprises and individuals towards their implementation.