Paper Title
Development Strategies for Sustainable Tourism
Abstract
- On summer 2018, Albanian Government started “100 Villages” Project, a cooperation between National Agency of Territorial Planning and Universities of Tirana, students and teachers from Architecture, Economics and Agriculture.This project which started with the study of the rural fabric, the build environment and actual economic situation of every picked village, aimed to transform this rustic network, into the backbone of a future sustainable tourism in Albania, connected much more to the land, the produce and the people, arguing for a different type of tourist and for a more ecological development of these representative communities.The region I would like to tell you about is close to Saranda, by the Ionian Sea, just in front of Corfu Island, and is made of four villages: Mursi, Rusan, Çuke and Mesopotam. They are the hinterland of Saranda, one of the most important tourist spots of the country, with high development potential in coming years and a territory that with its history, ethnography, archeology, cuisine and nature will add a very interesting note to all toursits wanting to know more deeply the authentic Albania, beautiful, ancient, with its traditions and hospitality (Yi-Ping, 2016).The area is rich in history, the landscape is impressive, with evergreen citrus vegetation and majestic olive groves.The coast of this territory is a unique gem, but our whole concept of tourism development for the region is to support but also to offer an alternative to the sea-sun package, with the folklore, culinary, culture and antiquity of the area Yet the greatest wealth of this region are its people. These people who sanctuary the ancient and noble habit of preserving what was left from their forefathers. These gentle people, toughened by sunshine on their fields, hardworking and wise, with eyes towards the future full of hope and faith.
Keywords - Sustainable Tourism; Development; Tradition; Hospitality;