Outdoor Albania partners with World Hotel LInk to offer online booking services to tourism SMEs

www.outdooralbania.com

For the past three years, Outdoor Albania has been fostering a relationship with World Hotel Link, an internet platform that provides online booking services to tourism SMEs (small and mid-sized enterprises) through its online listing sites and hotel website development.


According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, one of the major trends in the tourism industry is “increased looking and booking online.” International travelers are increasingly using the internet to plan their holidays and book their accommodations.  


For tourism enterprises, this means that a strong presence online is more important than ever. Unfortunately, small-scale and mid-sized accommodations often lack the technological infrastructure needed to position themselves online and reach the global marketplace.  


Through its “market place operators” such as Outdoor Albania, World Hotel Link hopes  to bridge the technological gap between locally-owned accommodations and online consumers worldwide.  Small business owners now have the opportunity to list their accommodation on a destination website, and they have the additional option of a high-quality hotel website in English with high results in search engines such as Google.  


World Hotel Link’s destination websites cover three geographical regions of Albania: Shkoder and the North, Tirana and the East, and coming soon: Saranda and the coast.  In addition to listing accommodations and offering instant online booking services, these websites also contain a wealth of tourist information. They provide travelers with information about activities, restaurants, events, and transportation.  Each site’s traffic has been increasing steadily, with an average of 3,093 total weekly pageviews during the months of July and August.


“We are promoting the 'real' Albania, and we are looking for small family- run hotels, guesthouses or sustainable hotels which are interested in a free listing of their accommodation on one of our websites.” says Laura Payne, co-founder of Outdoor Albania.  “Our goal is to bring as much economical gain to small scale accommodations as possible. With WHL, we create a win-win situation.”


One success story is Hotel Lugano in Tirana.  Through its listing on the the WHL Tirana destination page and on its WHL hotel website, Hotel Lugano secured numerous bookings during the summer 2010 season.  Most importantly, Hotel Lugano is findable to those who search for it online.  When “hotel lugano tirana” is entered in a google search box, the destination site and the hotel website appear among the top ten results.  


To see how the accommodation listings appear online, visit the three destination websites at www.travel-tirana.com, www.shkoder-albanian-alps.com and www.albanian-coast.com.

Express: Up Mount Dajti by Cable and down by bicycle

http://outdooralbania.com/
by Cynthia Ord

The city of Tirana is working on its image.  Its current mayor, Edi Rama, is an artist-turned-politician who is eager to introduce Tirana as a vivid European capital.  For the city, this means beautification projects like a fresh coats of colorful paint for formerly gray buildings and a total re-landscaping of the central Skanderbeg Square.

Tirana is indeed looking better, but perhaps the most beautiful part of the city is the nature around it.  Majestic green mountains hover around the city.  One of the highest points on the horizon is Mount Dajti.  Just 26 km outside the city, it measures 1,613 meters of altitude.  The mountain is known as the ‘balcony of Tirana’ and has been declared a national park.

Just a few years ago, a gondola cable lift called the Dajti Express was built to carry site-seers from the city to the mountaintop. For adventure seekers, the best part of the gondola lift is that there is room for bicycles on board.  Outdoor Albania offers a guided excursion that takes visitors up by cable and down by bike through surrounding villages.

The highlight of the trip is a stop at the restaurant built around a panoramic view of the capital below.  It is called Gurra e Perrise, and it is world class. The restaurant has outdoor seating in lush garden terraces. Stunning infinity pools swarm with the trout that also appear on the menu, and lamb roasts slowly on its traditional-style spit. Inside the restaurant, the presidential table is reserved for political personages who bring guests to this little-known lookout above the city.

The bicycle ride down kept me wide-eyed and white-knuckled. Good brakes and a fearless streak required.  There is no better way to enjoy the paradoxes and contrasts of Albania: rural versus urban, cattle versus traffic, and fresh mountain air versus the noise and pollution of the city.  This day trip is also evidence that Tirana is underrated.  Travelers pass through to other parts of the country without realizing the exciting possibilities in and around the city.  This is definitely my favorite OA day trip so far.

This post originally appeared in Cynthia's travel blog, http://sunshineandalbania.blogspot.com/

view from the cable car to Dajti

Panoramic view of Tirana from Dajti

A beautiful day-trip from Tirana; the Cave and the village of Pellumbas

The following article is written by Lieke who joined our day-trip to the cave of Pellumbas. She describes how she experienced Pellumbas. On her own blog you can read more about her trips and experiences in Albania.

I have always been interested in caves and I have seen many, below you can read about my day trip to the cave and village of Pellumbas

Driving into Pellumbas brought a smile to my face. Just a half our drive from the busy and modern city Tirana and suddenly I find myself in a small village surrounded by beautiful nature and silence.

Pellumbas is a friendly village, near the Erzen River, with a view on some of the most stunning mountains. Up in those mountains you can find the Shpella e Zeze; the cave of Pellumbas. In this cave they found the skeletons of Cave Bears who, according to specialists, used to live there more than 10.000 years ago. Together with our guide Ilir Mati from Outdoor Albania we started the one-hour hike to the cave. Only the walk up was already worth the tour; the singing birds, the bright colors and warm smell of summer. The refreshing breeze that blew around the mountains made it perfect. The trail was very good as the Outdoor Albania Association, together with volunteers and the villagers, structured and signed the path one year ago (2009). Next to the path grew some deliciously smelling herbs that Ilir pointed out to us. While hiking he taught us more about nature, about how the mountains around were shaped, and why Albania has so many different kind of mountains.

When we arrived at the cave of Pelumbas we put on our headlamps and entered the dark hole, what an amazing experience! Usually when I visit cave there are many other visitors, and often places are enlightened. Here we were alone in complete darkness. The cave smelled like earth and I felt some healthy strain when we entered the dark cave. A cave always has something stirring and mysterious, especially when you just follow the small ray of light of your headlamp in the darkness. When we explored the cave I saw a bat sleeping upside down on the archway of the cave, and some amazing stalactite and stalagmite constructions. Ilir took me to a place where you can see the face of an old Albanian warrior created by stalactites and stalagmites. He told me his imaginary story that, whenever Albania is in real danger, this warrior will come to live, rise up from its place, and help Albania. I love these kinds of legends!

After hiking back to the village we sat down in a small village restaurant where they prepared a delicious lunch for us. The salad was fresh, the tomatoes tasted full and warm from the sun, and the spring union seemed to come fresh from the garden. There was a traditionally prepared chicken with lemon and we drank home-made dhalle, a drink made from yoghurt and a little water.
After a wonderful day we turned back to the busy but lovely city-life of Tirana; happy, full, and satisfied.

Visiting Albania now; from Tirana to Berat

The following article is written by Anna Saville, a blogger on Suite 101.com, who travels through 3 continents and writes about her favorite places in the world.

Situated in Eastern Europe, Albania is often ignored as a tourist destination but its accessibility from any European country makes it an interesting, affordable choice.

Little known, largely ignored and curious to the individual travelling around the countries it borders, the small European nation of Albania is nestled in between the greenery of Macedonia and Serbia, sharing the glorious Ionian coast with its neighbour Greece.

From being shut off from the rest of the world, through many trials and tribulations, a country often stereotyped and misunderstood, the time has come for Albania to be visited.

Crossing the Montenegrin border into this area of considerable wonder through roads less travelled, be prepared to be thrown a bit by the work in progress. Throughout the country, Albania definitely showcases examples of old times passed juxtaposed with the new. It is a miss-mash of eras with a distinct difference between older and young generations, where locals are still curious of tourists but friendly, where nodding means 'no' and shaking your head means 'yes'.The country's transformation to match a contemporary Europe remains slow but promising. The grandeur of new bars, clubs and restaurants display a complete contrast to an era not so long gone where any kind of materialistic luxury was forbidden.

The Capital, Tirana

While nothing appears to operate in an orderly fashion, it is a good idea to begin smack bang in the middle of the capital. Stepping off the furgo (equivalent to a bus) in Tirana is where the action starts. Tirana is a unique example of a European capital that has a plan to give a complete makeover to the tired and visually undernourished city. The eclectic mix of architecture and monuments representing different periods in Albanian history, bright gelati coloured buildings repainted to liven up the city, and the absurd traffic conditions with impatient drivers coming from all directions driving at all speeds are just as apparent as the beautiful, mountainous landscape sitting quaintly in the background of the hectic but interesting Tirana.

Begin at Skanderbeg Square, which is surrounded by important buildings and attractions which hold the history of its people, starting with the National Museum of History, a comprehensive insight into the past and present Albania. Follow with an afternoon browsing the National Art Gallery, which contains a surprisingly impressive collection of beautiful works form all various eras, the Realist Painting room in particular being the room they are most proud of.

And to end a not so typical day, a visit to a traditional restaurant Oda is particularly worthwhile.Representing a family's comfortable dining room, it serves Albanian food, and the refreshment raki, Albania's answer to vodka.

A Few Hours South in Berat

After getting a taste of Tirana, the next suggested stop is the charming town Berat, full of historic importance a few hours south of the capital. Travelling via fascinating villages through beautiful countryside spotting many a bunker, it is clear there is so much to this rugged and absorbing country. A common sight of men steering a donkey attached to a rickety cart loaded with goods moving slowly among the traffic, farmers selling colourful produce, and women leading cattle along the main roads all make for the perfect photo opportunity, leaving you with the feeling you have arrived somewhere else entirely.

No doubt, Albania leaves room for plenty of surprises and experiences unattainable elsewhere, providing the best chances to see something different. A relatively safe country to visit, it seems the only thing to be mindful of is the rough roads with potholes everywhere. Keep both eyes peeled at all times! It may not yet be the easiest country to get around in, but it's affordable with a lot to discover and uncover; this is part of Europe after all.