‘We will have an airport for flamingos too,’ Rama: in Zvërnec, the biggest tourism investment in Europe

Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke about the development of luxury tourism and foreign investments in Albania during his participation in the Euronews 2026 Summit.

Rama said Albania aims to create the conditions for high-end tourism development, stressing that projects can be realized through foreign capital, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, or even Albanian companies.

The prime minister stressed that Albanian companies too, in his view, now have the capacity to take part in major tourism projects, mentioning the possibility of building luxury hotels and resorts.

Rama also spoke about the major tourism projects in the Sazan and Zvërnec area, saying Albania is trying to bring one of Europe’s biggest tourism investments in many years. According to Rama, investor interest is linked to Albania’s opening and the opportunities the country offers for major tourism projects.

“We must create conditions for luxury tourism. It can be 100% foreign capital, it can be a joint venture, it can be a public-private partnership, it can be Albanian companies taking part. We also have Albanian companies in a position to take this step — for which we are talking, perhaps not about a 4, 5, or 6 billion resort. Billion is like the one you have been careful to talk about, but with high-end luxury hotels.

“We want to be a small piece that shines across the whole mosaic of Europe, because sooner or later, Europe will be the big tourism village for the whole world. Today we are trying to bring the biggest investment in Europe in many years in tourism, which combined between the island of Sazan and the peninsula of Zvërnec could reach more than 6 billion. Why is it happening? It is happening because we have opened up as a country, because people are looking at where the opportunities are, because Albania has the conditions to work with big investors in a serious and professional manner,” he said.

Rama said Albania is experiencing growth in the number of foreign tourists, stressing that the country’s objective is to expand the tourism market worldwide.

“We have hospitable people, tasty food. Within a week you can experience many things, and we are very happy to see so many Spanish tourists arriving who want to return. Our objective is the world because we are discovering that all parts of the world are taking part in this growth. When we started this journey we counted 2 million tourists; my predecessor was a tourist when he returned to Albania. But last year we ended with nearly 12 million foreigners — not only Europeans, Japanese, Israelis, Chinese, visitors from the Middle East. We do not have the best infrastructure in Europe. But we have an airport that has left our neighbors behind for 5 or 6 years. We are talking about Belgrade airport, which was a big airport. Soon we will open a new airport in Vlorë. But we are working on a third airport in the south — it will be seasonal. We will also have an airport for flamingos,” he said.