COUNTRY: Albania

CLIENT:
GIZ - Conservation of Agrobiodiversity in Rural Albania Programme (CABRA)

PROJECT TITLE:
Development of a Marketing & Branding Strategy Concept for the Albanian Alps

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The mountain regions of Albania are recognized for the outstanding biodiversity of their flora and fauna and for their agrobiodiversity, which is increasingly endangered. The GIZ CABRA programme aims to halt the loss of this biodiversity and to increase the diversity of domestic animal and plant species. Therefore, CABRA is promoting sustainable mountain tourism, agriculture and other businesses. The Albanian Alps region is still not widely known as a sustainable mountain tourism destination but features an outstanding wealth of natural and cultural resources and biodiversity, and thus has strong potential to become one. To unlock and develop these as yet relatively undiscovered mountain regions of Albania into an attractive, competitive and sustainable mountain tourism destination , of which local communities are the main beneficiaries, innovative sustainable tourism products and services need to be created and the project area needs to be introduced to key European tourism markets by a strong regional tourism brand: ”Albanian Alps”. This Albanian Alps destination brand should serve as an umbrella brand for further tourism-related products, including so-called agrobiodiversity products, and thus create a high recognition value. Therefore, a marketing & branding concept needs to be developed that guides the local stakeholders on how to successfully develop a strong regional brand and create innovative sustainable tourism products, promotes the region internationally, and develops suitable sustainable tourism products while preserving and highlighting the region’s biodiversity.

The aim is to develop a strong Albanian Alps brand, an innovative sustainable tourism product and a strong target-group oriented marketing approach to position the Albanian Alps region as a sustainable mountain tourism destination of European importance.

AGEG Tourism for Sustainability Consulting provided the following services:

• Fact finding mission to the project regions of the Albanian Alps
• Assessment of the USP and sustainable tourism potential of the new tourism regions as a top hiking, trekking and outdoor destination and biodiversity hotspot
• Development, jointly with key tourism stakeholders, of a strong tourism destination brand “Albanian Alps”
• Elaboration of a tailor-made and implementation-oriented sustainable marketing, branding & destination development concept for the Albanian Alps as a guiding concept for all related tourism stakeholders
• Design and moderation of a participatory branding workshop with all tourism stakeholders related to the Albanian Alps region.