Today at EPOKA University, we hosted a roundtable on “Advancing Sustainable Tourism in Albania”, organized by academic staff Dr. Albina Hysaj, MSc. Egla Mansi, and diaspora researcher Dr. Eriona Canga, within the framework of the READ (Research Expertise from the Academic Diaspora) Project, supported by the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF).

The roundtable brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including Mariana Koceku (Member of Parliament; founder of Neomalsore Agrotourism), Klajdi Coka (EcoHub Albania), Arber Xhihani (Green Recycling Albania), Dhurata Thanasi Daneri (Luga e Argjendtë), Stefan Strazimiri (ATA HoReCa / HoReCa Expo Albania), Suela Tahiraj (sustainable tourism expert; Global Sustainable Tourism Council) , as well as academics and researchers including Dr. Blerta Avdia (Kolegji Universitar Logos),  and colleagues working on sustainability-related research such as Assoc Prof Fabio Daneri, Dr. Kriselda Gurra, Dr. Fatbardha Morina and Dr Nertil Mera.

The discussion addressed a core tension shaping Albania’s development path: how to sustain rapid tourism growth while managing its environmental and social costs.

Several challenges emerged clearly throughout the discussion:

* Strong seasonality and overconcentration in coastal areas

* Infrastructure gaps, particularly in water and waste systems

* Weak coordination between policy, industry, and local actors

* Limited integration of sustainability into business models

* Growing environmental pressure on natural destinations

A particularly important thread was the link between recycling systems and tourism sustainability. As visitor numbers increase, so does waste generation, especially plastics and packaging. Without functional recycling and waste management systems, tourism growth directly translates into environmental degradation, affecting not only ecosystems but also destination quality and long-term competitiveness.

The presence of actors such as recycling companies, hospitality representatives, policymakers, and sustainability experts highlighted that this is not a single-sector issue. It is a systems problem that requires coordination across value chains, from production and consumption to waste processing and policy enforcement.

What made this roundtable particularly valuable was the alignment across perspectives. There was a shared recognition that:

* Businesses must move beyond compliance towards proactive sustainability strategies

* Policy frameworks need to better support implementation, not only design

* Academia has a role in providing evidence, innovation, and capacity building

* Collaboration across stakeholders is not optional, but necessary for impact

The discussion moved beyond diagnosis and pointed toward practical directions, from improving waste separation and recycling infrastructure to promoting circular economy practices within tourism value chains.

Albania’s tourism model is still being shaped. The quality of that model will depend on how well growth is matched with systems that can sustain it.

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