Towards a five-year Cooperation Agreement to enhance tourism flows between Greece and Albania

A working meeting was held between Lysandros Tsilidis, President of FedHATTA, and the First Secretary of the Economic Diplomacy Section of the Embassy of Albania, oana Zhonga, as part of efforts to strengthen tourism flows between Greece and Albania. The meeting confirmed the commitment of both sides for closer cooperation, aiming at organized, institutionally secured, and mutually beneficial development of tourism between Greece and Albania.

During this meeting, the signing of a five-year Cooperation Agreement was discussed, which will provide for the implementation of joint actions to develop and strengthen tourism between the two countries. Special emphasis was placed on boosting outgoing tourism from Greece to Albania, noting that Greece is already the fourth largest source of visitors to the neighboring country.

At the same time, initiatives for further enhancement of incoming tourism to Greece were examined, especially following the launch of direct air links between Tirana-Athens and Tirana-Heraklion, Crete. In this context, the development of road tourism with buses to Albania was discussed, along with the promotion of motorized tourism as alternative and complementary forms of transportation, while outdoor activity tourism options were also emphasized.

Particular mention was made of the creation of two-end destination programs, which will aim to promote Greek and Albanian destinations as integrated tourist experiences. Additionally, meetings with local tourism associations in Greece and Albania are planned, so that travel agencies from both countries can gain in-depth knowledge of the respective destinations and develop partnerships.

During the discussion, Mr. Tsilidis emphatically referred to the need for strict and joint compliance with the existing institutional framework, particularly with the legislation governing the activities of travel agencies from third countries. It should be noted that according to the current legal framework (article 3 paragraph 2 of Law 393/1976, as applicable), travel agencies from third countries may only carry out tourism activities in Greece, if they have established a legal travel agency in our country, under the condition of reciprocity, or cooperate with a travel agency operating legally in Greece.