Response from: Peter Daams    (06/16/08 8:54pm)

It's been over 10 years since I visited Albania. It was very run down and quite dangerous at the time. I think there have been some improvements since then, but my understanding is it is still a ways behind the rest of Europe. The scenery on the other hand was stunning.

But honestly, I really can not see that Albania will be getting more tourists than Italy or Greece even in the next 200 years. Not all travellers want to lie on a beach. Italy and Greece offer so many historically significant buildings and cultural experiences, that Albania is simply no competition. Aside from the fact that Albania's infrastructure has serious catching up to do (more than can be achieved in 20 years), I just cannot see Albania competing on Italy's or Greece's level.

Response from: Karen    (06/17/08 2:47am)

Well Peter another of the predictions was a Gleneagles golf course on the moon, perhaps this is more likely than mass tourism in Albania?

Response from: Elizabeth    (06/17/08 10:19am)

I've bussed through Albania and it has gorgeous countryside. Maybe a place for an investment home??

Response from: Karen    (06/19/08 6:11am)

Elizabeth, I have read that the Albanian countryside is beautiful. Perhaps buying a holiday/second home there would be a good investment.

Response from: deps76    (08/25/08 2:52pm)

i am Greek-American and while i was living in Thessaloniki had heard how horrible Albanians were and that they were responsible for all of the crime in and around Greece, etc. i was always told that they were low class and criminals, et.al. and that the country was horrible.

i ended up marrying an Albanian from Orikum (small beach town outside of Vlore). we met in Greece and i was always very leary of him and anything he said. then i started meeting his family and found them to be so warm and inviting... much more so than most Greeks, unfortunately.

when i went to Albania from Greece through the border crossing at Kakavia, i was very nervous as he had gone the week before me to gather paperwork. i arrived at the border at ~5am after a dizzying drive throught the Greek mountains in the middle of the night and was horrible nauseous and exhausted. my husband met me in a car they had rented with a local driver. all i wanted to do was lay down, sleep, and breathe deep so i wouldn't puke. it was the first week of June and as the sun began to come up i was speechless... i couldn't believe how beautiful it was! we took the coastal road (another nightmarishly winding trip) to Orikum, passed through Saranda, and i kept my face plastered to the glass the entire trip swallowing all my dry heaves. this place is amazingly beautiful! we stopped in the middle of nowhere to buy honey from a local farmer (potty break, too) and continued on to Lathathika (sp?) and ate breakfast on top of the mountain. because it was so foggy at the top i had no idea what lay ahead... we started out going down the mountain watching the greenery and plant-life change and then the sun broke through and i was faced with a looming valley before me- straight ahead down the mountain- with a tiny little beach town and surrounded on 3 sides by mountains.

yes, it's a bit primitive still. yes, it's behind the times. no i wouldn't quite call it home to my 2 young sons just yet... but the people are warm and happy to have visitors. they were willing to open their doors to a stranger and give you food. actually, they don't stop giving you food. they make you eat long after you've almost busted a gut.

they're growing. they're getting stronger. they're learning.

i visited a few other stops (including Durres and Tirana) and this country is absolutely amazing.

i'm Greek and i'll honestly say that a large part of Greece's membership in the EU has to do with how beautiful it is and that it's a major tourist destination. seriously. Greece is still way behind the times and not all it's cracked up to be.

so don't sweat Albania. they're still coming out of the communist fog, but they've got alot going for them.

Vlore is a city to watch out for as far as growth as it is an outlet to one of the new major oil pipelines coming from the Caucasus via Baku, Bulgaria, etc.

i believe this country WILL, in fact, be a great destination spot in the future!!! if Greece's jealousy doesn't muck it up for them. seriously.