Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has expressed concern about the impact the protests are having on the tourism sector, warning that cancellations of reservations by foreign tourists are becoming a serious problem for the country’s economy.
In the podcast “Flasim”, Rama said that he has received numerous messages from tour operators, who report cancellations of reservations for the summer season. According to him, this situation is directly affecting local businesses, the household economy and the income that the country benefits from tourism.
“I want to start these notes with a preliminary reflection regarding some symptoms that concern me and should concern anyone who is interested in things getting better in Albania, not worse.
And I believe that even among those who protest, some want things to go better in Albania and are sincerely concerned about how the investment development in Zvërnec will go. While another part, the dominant part, is not that they don’t want things to go better, absolutely, but, as they want things to go, the worst is coming for Albania.
And here I have in mind those small parties, that remained small or that became old. Here I have in mind, the influxes that come from other territories, what connection do they have with this topic, which has to do with Vlora and which only in Vlora has not caused any kind of protest, because Vlora massively loves development there, this is a question to which I do not want to give the answer, but I will leave it as a question mark.
And, going to Vlora, I want to focus on a very problematic symptom, which is getting stronger day by day: cancellations of reservations for the season by foreign tourists.
I have received many messages, but of course I cannot come out and use this to say: “Are you going to stop the protest because your soul is burning for the hotels?!” But, on the other hand, I cannot remain silent without saying that in Vlora and Durrës there have also been protests by tourist operators, awareness-raising protests.
In Vlora, about 95% of those who own hotels, restaurants, and bars have joined the awareness-raising protest, asking for understanding so that the season is not damaged, because it is a direct damage to the family economy of many people related to tourism and is a direct damage to the local economy and the national economy as a whole.
That is, if we stop the money that would normally come into Albania with a quiet tourist season, then I don’t know whose benefit this will be.
If there is a protest agenda to obstruct Albania from all sides and, through obstruction, to create frustration and then to make people say: “Come on, we’re removing this government, just leave us alone,” then this is an agenda that is not new. It is an agenda that has been used in other countries, it is an agenda that has been used here by the Molotovs, but it is not going to work. The damage will definitely be great, and unnecessary, in my opinion.
Another very disgusting symptom is bullying people on Facebook, on Instagram.
I have seen with great regret how a singer like Ylli Limani, a singer beloved by a mass of people – he is not my favorite singer, I belong to a different generation and live with other desires related to music, but he is a very respected, very favorite singer, who gave an extraordinary concert in Tirana – has been “massacred” with insults, pressure, and threats to cancel the concert and not give people the pleasure of having a beautiful moment of music, because people will focus on the protests.
And this is happening to many people, even those who simply have a different opinion and write posts and receive insults and threats, which speak to what I have said, which is the first day in this conglomerate, in this mosaic, where there are people from all walks of life, where there are definitely people who only have good intentions, there is also a fascist component, a fascist spirit. And the fascist spirit does not need uniforms and weapons. The fascist spirit is the spirit that says: “Albania belongs to Albanians”, so everyone else outside is not welcome. Just as Germany belonged to the Germans and became the “black sheep” of Europe for years, years after that. “Greece belongs to the Greeks”, these Golden Dawn monsters said, who became a problem for Greece, and so on, and so on, and so on.
The fascist spirit is when you say: “I want to speak, I want to say what I think, I want to protest, I want to sit on the boulevard,” but I don’t want and I don’t accept that others have a different opinion or stance.
Others should be taken out of cafes, others should not go to concerts, others should not go to the beach, others should not work, others should not receive material benefits from their work, because they should be part of this thing”. The fascist spirit is when you don’t know at all and, of course, this is a very dangerous component of the protest. But these symptoms are directly related to two things that are non-negotiable for a democratic society and for Albanian society and for the country, which is the need for economic growth, the need for more income and tourism, it is such a big and important source and this year is predicted to be the most successful season ever, but, if this situation continues and if the cancellations continue, this will not be a successful season. This will be a season sabotaged by ourselves, by ourselves, an unimaginable thing, but which can actually happen, and the symptoms are.
And the other: it is intolerable that a group of people, a force of people, a party or a conglomerate of parties, or I don’t know, call it whatever you want, imposes itself on the rest, saying: “Either you will think like me, or I will maim you, I will bully you, I will threaten you”. This is fascist, it is scandalous and this must be stopped. And this is stopped by not retreating in the face of these kinds of pressures and in the face of these kinds of beasts. This must be stopped”, Rama said in the introduction to the podcast.