Activities and Output

At the beginning of this event, a presentation was given on the purpose of the EDP initiative including the purpose of the smart specialization strategy, the six priority domains identified for the country's smart specialization during the mapping process conducted in 2021, and the Entrepreneurial discovery process, which is one of the most crucial stages in the preparation of this strategy, by engaging representatives from all dimensions of the quadruple helix in evaluating the progress of these sectors and identifying relevant policy measures to boost their performance.

In the second session of the activity, through an open discussion panel with the participants, a swot analysis of the Albanian maritime tourism sector was carried out. The participants in this discussion clearly pointed out that this sector should be a top priority for the country's smart specialization by emphasizing a number of factors such as the coast's natural beauty, the gastronomy, the hospitality, competitive prices amongst others. Furthermore, they emphasized that the competitive advantage that Albania has in this sector has enabled not only the ability for this sector to grow significantly, but has also had a beneficial ripple impact on the other pillars of the tourism sectors in the country, such as agritourism, mountain tourism, cultural tourism etc. Despite the promising prospects of this sector , the quadruple helix actors highlighted that a number of challenges could threaten its long-term growth and prosperity, highlighting the lack of seasonal workers and the underperformance of academia as the two most significant obstacles to this sector. 

As for the third session of the activity, it was oriented towards collecting the input form the participants in regards to the relevant policy measures that must be adopted to ensure that the potential of the maritime tourism sector is fully realized. In addition to the measures required to overcome the challenges indicated above, the measures that can improve the tourism offer in Albania were also discussed in detail, including diversifying the touristic offer, making information for Albanian transportation lines more accessible to foreign tourists, encouraging the use of more digital tools for the management of hotels, travel agencies, bars,  amongst others.Panel Members and A Brief Description of Their Professional Commitments

• Mr. Arben Shkodra: Secretary General of Albania Manufacturing Union (AMU), Member of the Inter -Institutional Working Group for the smart specialization strategy and moderator of the event.
• Mr. Ledion Lako: Executive Director of the  National Coastline Agency
• Mrs. Matilda Naco: Executive Director of the Albanian Tourism Association (ATA)
• Mrs. Albana Tole: Deputy Minister for Education and Sports and Head Member of the Inter-Institutional Working Group the Smart Specialization Strategy.

Event organizers

This activity was organized by Future Center in collaboration with Inter-Institution Working Group and the Albanian Tourism Association (ATA), with the supported by the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) and the POLICY ANSWERS Project (Horizon Europe GA 10105887).