tourism employment during economic transition in albania
TRANSCRIPT
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Tourism Employment During Economic Transition in Albania
Drita KRUJA, MA - Lecturer of Tourism Shkodra University, Economics Faculty, Address: L. “Ahmet Haxhia”, Rr. “Musa Luli”, No. 48, Shkodër, Albania Phone (home): ++3552243450 Mobile: ++355692148272
Edlira GJURAJ, MBA – Lecturer of Organizational Behavior Shkodra University, Economics Faculty, Address: L. “Qemal Stafa”, Rr. “Zogu i I-rë”, No.25, Shkodër, Albania Phone (home): ++3552241378 Mobile: ++355692255151
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Tourism Employment during Economic Transition in Albania Abstract
Since '90 Albania is in transition. Many studies have tried to evaluate the duration of this
period, but, to in some extent, it is going to be unpredictable. Many new phenomena
presented during this period have made it so difficult. According to that, there are many
new industries growing up rapidly, while some of the old ones failed. Tourism industry
is a new one.
This paper consists of the description of tourism employment and labor market behavior
in the special conditions of Albania, passing from communism to capitalism. New
market economy brought many changes in the Albania Economy profile. The study is
concerned with the role of new developments in tourism industry, tourism employment
and the nature of its occupations in these special circumstances. Considering tourism as
refuge industry1 gives the opportunity to identify mobility patterns from other (not
efficient) economic sectors, to asses the impact of the change in labor market and to
measure the motivation of the workforce, which found itself as devalued human capital,
for getting employed into tourism.
Also, as in all East-European countries in transition, the migration phenomenon is present
in Albania. Its social-economic advantages and disadvantages has been object of many
studies.
The aim of our paper is to give response to the question: Is there any correlation between
tourism developments and its employment with migration rate? The attractiveness of
tourism employment for many is due to a number of factors, such as: individual desire for
1 Szivas E, & Riley M, “Tourism employment during economic transition”, 1999.
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being entrepreneur, high level of interpersonal contacts and flexibility in employment,
low skilled job, diversity of jobs, etc..
The study is based on primary and secondary research. National statistics, previous
contributions in this field, internet sources, etc., served as secondary data. Survey
methods served as the source of the primary data, which have been processed by SPSS.
This is a behavioral study in which economics forms the background. Essentially, it is
about the personal experience of economic change in exceptional social circumstances.
I. A few words about Albania?
Albania is a small nation located east across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, bordered with
Montenegro and Kosovo on the north, Macedonia on the east, and Greece on the south.
Albania has a population of 3.3 million, about half of
which live in the countryside and are engaged
primarily in agriculture. The country is blessed with
natural beauty and resources - high majestic
mountains, beautiful lakes and streams, over 200
miles of pristine white sand beaches, and significant
deposits of various minerals (oil, copper, nickel,
chromium, coal, etc.). (Luthans & Lee, 1996).
Its geographical position and so many natural
beauties are not the only things Albania has to be proud of. Having a look at the old
languages map, we see Albanian language as old as the Greek one. So our history starts
too many years B.C... Our castles in the main old centers tell about Albania and
Albanians, many times ago. Passing through many different invasions, destroying battles,
borders’ changes and conversions, Albanians arrived in the years of 20th century, which
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brought First and Second World War and the Hoxha dictatorship, the most wild, long life
regime in the communist campus, for more than 45 years.
At the 21st century, within much developed Europe, we still have lots of problems.
Unemployment and underemployment have been critical problems. In addition Albania
faces the problem of low levels of industrial production …., lack of modern production
facilities (most of the heavy manufacturing facilities are now shut down and contains
cast-off Chinese technology installed in the late 1960s), a chronic negative trade balance,
and mounting foreign debt. (ibid)
Inherited problems both with new unknown phenomena of trade economy put Albania
into a long transition period. It has chosen a liberal economic policy, considering as the
premise for its economic development. Also, in order to attract investments, the principal
condition is to construct the infrastructure, an investment that continues at fast rates and
is a priority also in the midterm program of the Albanian Government. It is a necessity of
developing tourism as well.
Tourism is a major world industry whose importance will grow even more in the coming
years. Albania is one of Central and Eastern European Countries “which has largely
closed to international tourism during the cold-war era and where tourism as a
consequence has suffered somewhat compared to Western Europe. … the countries of
central and eastern Europe – with their rich architectural heritage, natural treasures, pasts
and traditions – are already becoming significant tourism destinations and are doing their
utmost to tackle the new challenges. (Stepova V, 1997).
While Albania would be at the top of the alphabetical tourism "yellow pages," it is not
likely to be the first place to come to mind when planning an eco-get-a-way. The country
is still a virtual unknown on the vacation circuit, but according to the Director for
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Albania's Ministry of Tourism, it is a top priority for the national economic development.
He described Albania's tourism as being in an "embryonic stage," but emphasized that it
has been identified as an area where the country has an international competitive
advantage. "Albania has been isolated in the past and not many people have had the
chance to visit there, so our nature is untouched and our coast is unspoiled." (The
Bulletin 6-1 Ecotourism.htm)
II. New developments in the Albanian economy.
According to Charles Goldfinger, "both general policy and employment regulations have
an impact on tourism services and their costs. Its highly seasonal nature and the great
demand for available, varied supply mean that the tourism industry requires considerable
flexibility and fluidity as regards work. The growth of tourism therefore has to be
supported by sound macro-economic policies, directed at growth and promoting work
flexibility".
The main focus of tourism developments strategy was seeing Albania as destinations for
international out-of-region tourism, rather than an internal or domestic tourism, especially
from the two main reasons: first, population in Albania is poor2, and second, data related
to that is still sparse and inconsistent.
With funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, this
Ministry outlined a detailed set of guidelines for the tourism industry which includes
long-term plans for environmental protection. Part of the development efforts include the
creation of national parks and protected areas. Some of Albania's most pristine and
ecologically valuable areas, such as the lagoon at Diviaka, the marsh areas of Butrint
2 According to the data from the 2002 Living Standards Measurement Survey, one quarter of the Albanian population lives in poverty.
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Lake, and the inland forests at Lura are slated to receive protected designation. On the
industry side, a PHARE program for tourism in Albania is providing grants and loans to
entrepreneurs who want to develop basic services and lodgings. And potential foreign
investors have been quick to investigate development opportunities, particularly in the
hotel industry in coastal areas. But so far Albania has not lost sight of the need to
safeguard the environment. The ministry is committed to developing tourism in an
environmentally friendly way and avoiding the over development that plagues other
destinations. "We will try to develop a tourism that is different from our Mediterranean
competitors. We want tourists to find in Albania what they have failed to find in other
places," he says. (The Bulletin 6-1 Ecotourism.htm)
III. What is Tourism Industry?
Exploring into the recently research and the different contribution of the tourism field,
there are too many different definitions considering different points of view in favor of
tourism.
“Tourism is neither a phenomenon nor a simple set of industries. It is human activity,
which encompasses human behavior, use of resources, and interaction with other people,
economies and environments.” (Bull, 1995:1)
First of all, we need to recognize that tourism is not a uniform industry or sector. From a
macro-economic point of view, tourism is simply something that is consumed, whether
consumption is final or intermediate. “In the travel and tourism marketplace it follows
that the tourism industry, or industries, consists of any organizations supplying goods
and services to those people now defined as tourists and excursionists, as part of their
tourist requirements.” (Bull, 1995:3)
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In the international tourism research literature, the most commonly used definition is the
following: "Tourism is the temporary movement of persons to destinations outside their
normal home and workplace for leisure, business and other purposes, the activities
undertaken during the stay and the facilities created to cater for the needs of tourists."
(WTO, 1989). For the purpose of investigating the economic impacts of tourism, the
definition of the WTTC seems to be more appropriate, though, in our case, too wide to
apply (due to temporal and financial constraints): "The Travel and Tourism industry is
defined by the economic activities (personal, investment, government, business and net
export) associated with travel as measured by the wide variety of current and capital
expenditures made by or for the benefit of a traveler before, during and after a trip"
(WTTC, 1995).
Though expenditures before and after tourist trips may arise as a consequence of
traveling, most services provided to the tourists have to be delivered at the time and place
at which they are produced (Hansen & Jensen, 1996). Tourism's economic impacts,
according to that, have to be seen as economic benefits and costs which accrue to
destination areas as a consequence of tourism development. Also, tourist expenditures
should be considered from the perspectives of the local, regional and national economies
of tourist destinations. Because of the lack of the appropriate information on it, it is
difficult to go in the stratified classification, so the focus remains on the national
economy as a whole.
Tourism is a field of investment as well as an attractive industry for being employed on
it. Tourism is generally known as one of the sectors where the costs of a new job are
significantly less than in other industries, though some researches have come to a
contrasting conclusion. Obviously, the characteristics of employment and the effects of
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tourism development vary according to the type of tourist activity, some types of tourism
being more labor-intensive than others. Accommodation facilities and the hospitality
sector in general employ a substantial proportion of the tourism labor force, but they also
require relatively large capital investments. The financial resources required to generate
employment also vary with the size of companies, the types of skills needed, the
economic development of the destination area, etc.
IV. Tourism Industry in Albania.
Why studying tourism industry developments?
Let us have a look at the main considerations related to that:
First, tourism economic significance can easily be assessed in terms of:
the contribution it makes, both directly and indirectly, to the total value of goods and
services produced in the economy,
the export dollars it earns through the sale of goods and services to overseas visitors,
and
the jobs it creates.
So by addressing some of aspects of tourism in the economy, its macroeconomic role, its
consequences, and most related topics to our study, we will address its involvement in
policies related to employment levels.
Second, Albania is one of the less-developed countries. "Many less-developed
countries have regarded tourism as an easy industry to develop, because it demands
relatively low technology compared with many other industries, and skills which can be
easily mastered." (Bull, 1995:126). Also compared with heavy industry sectors, which
requires substantial investments of fixed capital formation, tourism traditionally is
characterized by low investments in starting up businesses. It makes it very favorable to
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the existing and new entrepreneur. Their initiative both with their capitals is strongly
supported by some non-economic factors, which ".. particularly cultural and political
ones, have been recognized by economists as vital in determining the capability and
growth of sectors in an economy" (Bull, 1995:126). Added to that, Albania inherited not
modern heavy industry sectors, independently from the strategies during the Hoxha
regime to transform our country from agricultural to an industrial one.
Third, tourism incentives are linked to cultural and traditional values, attitudes,
quality of climate and physical surroundings, except the curiosity of exploring one of the
most isolated socialist countries for more than 45 years. “Indeed the bright Albanian sun
shines on nearly 450 kilometers of relatively pristine coastline. The Albanian Alps,
numerous lakes, vast forests and the rich cultural heritage of one of the oldest
civilizations in Europe, round out the offerings which the Ministry of Tourism hopes will
draw visitors and their much-needed hard currency to the country.” (The Bulletin 6-1
Ecotourism).
Fourth, the tourism is a significant source of employment both in Europe and
throughout the world. With 9 million jobs actually in the tourism industry (excluding
transport), i.e. 6% of employment and 5.5% of the Union's GDP, tourism is already one
of the main sources of employment in the European Union. (Presidency of the council of
the European Union). Albania, as geographically part of Europe, in order to be part of it
in all required standards, must follow up its main streams of the later developments. In
Albania there is an increase in the number of people employed in tourism from 1994 to
2000, except the 1997. For example in 2000, it is approximately twice of the number of
people employed in the extracting industry. (19 thousand compared in tourism to 9
thousand in extracting industry).
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Fifth, Albania is one of things the tourist may very well fail to find, however, it
is an easy way to get there. While directly accessible by ferries from Italy and Corfu,
overland transportation is another story. From the Tirana airport and through main roads,
now no more in the terrible conditions and the rail system (in fact still poor), you can get
into the country.
V. Other Aspects of Tourism in Albania
Rural Tourism
Rural tourism is both an old and a new phenomenon at the same time. Interest in
countryside recreation started to grew already in the 19 Century as a reaction to the stress
of the increasing urbanization and industrialization. Based on the concept of rural
tourism given by Tamara Rátz – László Puczkó, though it seems to be simple to define
rural tourism as "tourism that takes place in the countryside", this definition does not
include the complexity of the activity and the different forms and meanings developed in
different countries. It was Gannon (1988 in the Kloeze, 1994) passing to a broader
definition, "rural tourism includes a range of activities, services and amenities provided
by farmers and rural people to attract tourists to their area in order to generate extra
income for their businesses". And if it is accepted, rural tourism covers not only farm
tourism or agro tourism (which is generally what rural tourism means for most people),
but also special interest nature holidays, touring in rural areas and residential tourism, and
the services include - besides accommodation - events, festivals, outdoor recreation,
production and sale of handicrafts and agricultural products, etc. rural tourism means
different things in different countries. But, in Albania it is something between all of
these, so it is renting out cottages to visitors or providing catering services in the
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countryside, as well as on family farms, where guests stay either with the farmer family,
or in a guest house, but visiting farms to have a meal and explore the farmyard is also
popular (Verbole, 1995 in Tamara Rátz – László Puczkó, 1998).
As long as we know, rural tourism is a segment of the total tourist industry which can be
particularly important in Albania, in a country that are combined spectacular natural
attractions, seaside, high mountains, rainforest or herds of exotic animals, with its
attractive cultural landscapes with small villages, thermal springs, rivers and lakes,
combined with the traditional hospitality, are able to offer pleasant experiences to the
kind of tourist who is looking for relaxation and recreation in a calm setting. On one
hand, rural tourism development can play an important role in the diversification of the
Albanian tourist supply and in the creation of a more complex and colorful country
image. On the other hand, rural tourism is not only the end, but the means to stimulate
economic growth, to increase the viability of underdeveloped regions, and to improve the
living standards of local populations. So, rural tourism developments means:
“…increased number of opportunities for social interaction for local people who often
live relatively isolated lives in agricultural communities” (Swarbrooke, 1996 in Tamara
Rátz – László Puczkó, 1998), more developed infrastructure, safer life, higher number of
visitors, higher income, higher living standards for the population which in turn will
directly reduce the migration rate characterizing these areas, and will attract the refuges
coming and investing in their country.
Sustainable Tourism Development
Tamara Rátz & László Puczkó (1998) include in their study, the concept of sustainable
development which was introduced by the World Commission on Environment and
Development in the Brundtland Report in 1987, defining sustainable development as
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"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs". In respect of sustainability the whole
tourism sector must be developed and managed in a way that it does not damage the
natural and socio-cultural environment and this is the responsibility of the world-wide
tourism industry. In the continuation of their work Tamara Rátz & László Puczkó
(1998), have given some types of sustainability, such as: Ecological sustainability, Social
sustainability, Cultural sustainability (Jafari, 1987) and Economic sustainability.
Economic sustainability refers to a level of economic gain from tourism that is
sufficient to provide an appropriate income for the local community (compared to the any
special measure taken to satisfy the tourists (thus a precondition of economic
sustainability is the attractiveness of an area and the perceived high quality of its tourist
supply: without being in a competitive position in the world market, no destination can be
economically sustainable).
Harmonization of all these aspects is the duty of tourism strategy developments, but it is
not in fact the focus of our study. It is just to remind that the study of the economic
impact of tourism is in course with the sustainability of its developments in order to
realize a long-term prospective.
Academic Field of Tourism
Tourism today is no longer an economic activity based solely on the employment of hotel
and catering staff. It is a major employer which needs to be taken seriously by those
responsible for employment policy. Tourism plays a greater role in bringing people and
countries together. It undoubtedly motivates them to learn foreign languages and
promotes mutual understanding of one another’s situation and thereby contributes to
peace. So, there are many other activities, included in different economy sectors, induced
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by tourism developments. In fact is too hard to evaluate its indirect impact, but it exists
and can not be neglected. For example, there are actually new branches of undergraduate
university studies set up in some of Albanian universities. The educational institutions
are excellent candidates for providing leadership. Their influences are an important
contributory factor in determining the managerial and the policy decision making
framework.
Human resources are important elements in the strengths and weaknesses of tourism
activity. Improvement of the supply conditions for human resources is an effective
measure for strengthening the competitive position of a destination/country. The (labor)
supply conditions are given through factor endowments, prices and characteristics of
factors of production and production efficiency. The human resources endowment of a
country is defined by the skill level of its workforce which, in turn, determines the
country's international competitive position. So, the training is needed not only in
managerial levels, but also in others levels. This is extremely important, since tourism
industry is labor intensive and the tourism experience is a high-contact service. That
means more qualification and specialization of labor forces available for tourism services.
On the other side, it brings the opening of the new work places by reducing a little bit
unemployment of different regions.
VI. Methodology
The study hypothesis is:
Considering tourism as refuge industry3 gives the opportunity to identify mobility
patterns from other (not efficient) economic sectors, to asses the impact of the change in
3 Szivas E, & Riley M, “Tourism employment during economic transition”, 1999.
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market labor and to measure the motivation of the workforce, which found itself as
devalued human capital, for getting employed into tourism.
The main objectives performed during the study are:
representing the role of new developments in tourism industry
analyzing tourism employment and the nature of its occupations in these special
circumstances
viewing tourism as refuge industry
giving tourism role in the economic developments
Methodology consists of the use of the combined primary and secondary research
methods. Exploring the right literature, such as: books, previous studies in the tourism
field; selecting related data to the purpose of the study; arranging them in the most
representative manner; comparing data, from different sources in order to increase their
accuracy were the main jobs performed during the secondary research process. In order to
prove the hypotheses, the study followed up the model of the similar study done by
Szivas & Riley (1999). It served as a guide to all our work for two main reasons: first,
the similar objective of the study, and the second the similar country under focus.
The reason for not having an exact figure for the number of people employed in tourism
in Albania is twofold: first, the accuracy of statistical data collection falls behind the
expectations, but, secondly, it is very difficult to define what proportion of the total final
demand in the economy is due to tourism, i.e. what is the contribution of tourist spending
directly and indirectly to employment creation and what is the effect of the tourism
multiplier. Besides, in Albania is a lack of any tourist job catalogue, which will facilitate
data gathering process for the further analyses.
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It is to be emphasized that some businesses, such as restaurants in tourist areas, are
selling principally to tourists, so are a direct part of the tourism industry, there are some
others supplying a similar physical product, such as restaurant in the center of the capital
city that are not really a part of tourism industry. This immediately creates a problem in
any economic analysis of the field, in that the products felt to be supplied by members of
the industry are not necessarily the same as those products perceived to be a demand by
consumers. (Bull, 1995:4).
All these facts reinforce the existence of any possible errors raised as a result of
unreliability and inaccuracy of the data gathered. The primary data were collected
through a self-completed questionnaire. The sample consists of individuals working in
tourism industry. The research was concentrated on the four main districts of the
country, such as: Tirana, Vlora, Shkodra and Koplik. Tirana is the Capital of Albania and
the most important economic center of the country. Vlora, Shkodra and Koplik were
chosen as different tourism areas. The sample share is represented in the following table:
Table 1. The areas and their share from sample ( n=154) Main Areas
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Vlora 36 23.4 23.4 23.4 Tirana 71 46.1 46.1 69.5 Shkodra 30 19.5 19.5 89.0 Koplik 17 11.0 11.0 100.0 Total 154 100.0 100.0
The definition of tourism workers was pitched fairly wide and included workers in
restaurants, hotels, travel agents, taxi drivers, etc. 250 questionnaires were randomly
distributed to workers within the sample areas, and the response rate was 62%. The
resulted content of the sample was 72 females (46.8%) and 82 males (53.2%). (As in
fig.1)
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In the sample, 25-35 year old respondents make 31.8% of the total, which is the dominant
part, and until 25 year old represent 26.6%. The main reason is that the younger tend to
be more mobile than older people. The age of sample is represented in fig.2.
As part of the assessment of human capital, the study used education classification based
on four levels. The educational background of the sample is shown in table 4.
Table 2. Educational Background of sample (n=154) Frequency Percent Valid
Percent Cumulative Percent
Primary School 4 2.6 2.6 2.6 Secondary school 47 30.5 30.5 33.1 Higher Education 89 57.8 57.8 90.9
Post-University 14 9.1 9.1 100.0 Total 154 100.0 100.0
It shows that the majority of respondents (57.8%) have higher educational level. This is a
characteristic that comes by high rate of unemployment in Albania, and it is good for the
quality of the tourism development.
The Pattern of Mobility
In the questionnaire subjects are asked to give their employment pattern over the 1991-
2004 periods. The choice of 1991 as a cut-off point is justified by some factors, such as:
Fig. 1: Gender content of the sample
FemaleMale
0
10
20
30
40
50
-25 25-35 35-45 45-55
Fig. 2: Age classification of the respondents
FrequencyPercent
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1. The study was primarily interested in mobility patterns after the collapse of the
communist system.
2. 1991 was the first year when unemployment appeared in the official statistics. Of the
total sample, 92.2% (142 respondents) moved into tourism during last 13 years.
Furthermore, in line with the hypothesis, the role of tourism as a refuge industry for the
victims of transition, it was anticipated that a number of respondents would have
exchanged their unemployed position with a job in this industry. Fig. 4 shows sectors of
the economy the tourism workers came from.
Fig. 4. Industry Prior to Tourism
place employment
unemployment
otherseducation
public administratio
transport
construction
agriculture
Manufacturing
mining, quarrying in
Count
40
30
20
10
0
The mobility into tourism occurred from each sector of the economy. The highest
category is “manufacturing industry” which provides 22.7% of the sample. The decline in
manufacturing industry, with the resulting redundancies, is likely inducement of this
mobility. The education sector, 16.2%, is the second sector indicating that deteriorating
social status and low pay in education make tourism an attractive employment option.
The job status mobility measure used three categories:
(1) Entrepreneur, (2) Manager, and (3) Employee.
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The cross - table 3 summarizes these measures. The first column shows the number of
respondents coming from each industry. The following three columns are concerned
with job status change and show the numbers of those, whose status is improved,
declined, and remained the same, respectively. This table gives out a clear view of the
extent and the character of change. Only a small minority of respondents declined in job
status, and a high proportion of it have an increase in their job status. (For more
information refer to the information of table 3).
Table 3. Place employment and Status change Status change Total Status Improved No Change Status Declined
Heavy Industry 4 4 Manufacturing 20 13 2 35 Agriculture 1 2 3 Construction 5 14 19 Transport 12 1 13 Public Administration 16 6 22 Education 22 3 25 Others 10 6 5 21
Place Employment
Unemployment 6 4 10 Total 92 49 11 152
* Note: the difference between 154 and 152 are missing values not included in the table Motivations to Move into Tourism In the questionnaire there is a table including 24 statements related to the possible
motives for taking up a job in tourism. The respondents were asked to rate, on a 5-point
Likert scale (1–strongly disagree, 2-disagree, 3-neither agree nor disagree, 4-agree, 5-
strongly agree), the degree of their agreement or disagreement for 24 statements. When
interpreting the results, higher means imply agreement whereas lower values indicate
disagreement. The means and standard deviations for 24 statements are shown in Table
4, where it is represented a strong positive attitude towards tourism employment. The
statements with strongest support were the following:
-"I wanted better working conditions",
- “I wanted an interesting job",
-“I wanted to work in a pleasant surrounding",
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-“I saw the tourism as the most profitable industry for a business",
-“I saw good business opportunities in tourism".
-"I was attracted by image of tourism"
-“I wanted a job in which I could deal with people"
The first statement with the lowest mean value was "My family had a business in
tourism", because of the lack of private ownership in the Albanian economy before ’90.
Table 4. Means and Standard for 24 Statements (n=154)
Statement
N
Mean Std.
Deviation Std. Error
Mean I earned too little in my previous industry 148 3.1284 1.62581 .13364It was easy to start a business in tourism 154 2.5519 1.50399 .12120I needed extra income in order to improve my living standard
154 4.0844 1.31830 .10623
I saw the tourism as the most profitable industry for a business
154 4.36364 1.059154 .085349
My family had a business in tourism 154 1.8312 1.56266 .12592I wanted to accumulate capital for establishing my own business
154 3.8506 1.66385 .13408
I was unemployed and needed a job 154 2.1688 1.68347 .13566I saw tourism as a profitable industry 154 4.0909 1.28013 .10316I was attracted by image of tourism 154 4.1169 1.22580 .09878I wanted to use my language skills 154 3.5000 1.41074 .11368I saw good business opportunities in tourism 154 4.2857 .93385 .07525I needed extra money quickly 154 2.9091 1.35937 .10954The industry I was working in before was declining 144 2.5417 1.53684 .12807I wanted a job that suited my education 151 3.3709 1.43581 .11684I did not see prospects in my previous industry 143 3.3776 1.51427 .12663I wanted to leave my previous job 141 3.2340 1.60641 .13528I could not get a job elsewhere 149 2.3221 1.53899 .12608I wanted a job in which I could deal with people 151 4.0132 1.21648 .09900I needed a job which did not require any particularqualification
151 2.6291 1.70339 .13862
I wanted to work in a pleasant surrounding 151 4.4702 1.01855 .08289I like to try different jobs 151 3.2185 1.59120 .12949I wanted to establish my own business 151 3.9536 1.63029 .13267I wanted better working conditions 151 4.7616 .72763 .05921I wanted an interesting job 151 4.6093 .79978 .06509 The data provide an interesting insight into the motives for the mobility into tourism.
It is necessary to have a look at the structure of the motives. Factor analysis was applied
to the data. The approach to factor analysis according to the main study objectives was
based on five hypotheses.
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1. Tourism is more than a simple economic sector; it encompasses a variety of
different activities in which the number of jobs created in spin-off activities is at
least as great as the number directly created in tourism.
2. Tourism offers many job opportunities requiring few qualifications and is
therefore a good source of work for young people and women, with only high
school education level, except others.
3. Tourism is favored for incentive value of the jobs it offers (as, image, the
pleasant surrounding etc..).
4. Tourism for the most part generates jobs which provide a new entry into
economic environment, often in private businesses as entrepreneurship etc.
5. Tourism offers an escape route from declining industry, an unpleasant job or
unemployment.
We make factor analysis using the correlation matrix to try to determine which sets of
variables cluster together in a reasonable manner.
Rotated Component Matrix Component
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I saw tourism as a profitable industry
.765 .198 -.2472.540E-02 -9.263E-02 -.111 .188 -.1214.301E-02 9.120E-02
I wanted to accumulate capital for establishing my own business
.7203.819E-02 .206 .124-2.649E-02 8.302E-02 .1024.152E-02 -.284-7.431E-02
I wanted better working conditions
.694 .174 .135 -.2283.330E-02 -7.660E-02 -.185 .156 .279 -.197
I did not see prospects in my previous industry
.190 .7918.972E-02 8.289E-02 3.547E-02 .2157.713E-02 -.149-9.822E-02 2.215E-04
I wanted to leave my previous job
-.123 .709-7.417E-02 -.197 .160 -.104 .242 .254 .172 -.101
I needed a .226 .7044.447E-02 .233 -.128 -.154 -.167-1.551E-03 -4.515E-02 8.655E-02
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job which did not require any particular qualification I earned too little in my previous industry
-.1829.714E-02 .830 -.127-9.618E-02 .109 .134-4.529E-02 .129-2.738E-02
I needed extra income in order to improve my living standard
.269-2.508E-02 .769 .3306.012E-02 -3.653E-02 -9.610E-02 .200 -.1098.924E-03
I needed extra money quickly
.146 .192 4.872E-02 .815 .174 -.136 -.209 -7.873E-02 -6.292E-023.783E-02
I was unemployed and needed a job
-.130 1.699E-02 -2.343E-02 .766 -.184 .128 .245 -3.435E-03 3.280E-02-9.705E-02
I wanted to use my language skills
-4.409E-02 -9.190E-02 -1.363E-02 -2.926E-02 .852 9.166E-02 4.791E-02 1.884E-02 8.877E-02 .203
I wanted a job in which I could deal with people
-.224 .255 -2.156E-02 .345 .575 5.510E-02 -4.723E-02 .341 .227-6.199E-02
I could not get a job elsewhere
4.710E-02 -.124 .157 .446 -.536 .133 .165 2.014E-02 .272 .174
I saw the tourism as the most profitable industry for a business
.372 -1.714E-02 .443 -4.247E-02 .510 -2.562E-02 .230 -.314 -7.439E-02 -.121
I like to try different jobs
-.290 -.134 .212 -9.221E-02 .296 .721 -2.111E-02 6.523E-02 2.552E-02 .126
It was easy to start a business in tourism
9.305E-02 -6.161E-02 .392 -.194 9.349E-02 -.679 .153 .114 -.1886.270E-03
I wanted to establish my own business
.303 1.505E-03 .313 -9.385E-02 -1.268E-02 .599 .422 .255 -2.349E-02 -.153
The industry I was working in before was declining
.283 .395 .387 9.090E-02 -.215 .507 -.109 .104 5.695E-02 .109
I saw good business opportunities in tourism
.169 8.881E-02 .102 -4.569E-02 -8.711E-02 -.158 .797 -.113 .245 .114
My family had a business in tourism
-.264 -.174 4.040E-02 .320 .196 .103 .544 .188 -.182 -.337
I was .179 .347 -.132 .162 .294 .266 .497 6.351E-02 -3.488E-02 .388
22
attracted by image of tourism I wanted to work in a pleasant surrounding
1.928E-02 -1.338E-02 .126-8.142E-03 -7.434E-03 2.065E-02 -2.993E-02 .871 .157 .234
Future of employment
.1089.384E-02 -.134 -.219 .264 .304 .135 .415 -.276 -.214
I wanted a job that suited my education
-1.673E-02 -1.305E-02 8.826E-03 8.189E-03 7.398E-02 .117 .133 .119 .8846.016E-02
I wanted an interesting job
-.122-5.054E-03 -1.644E-02 -4.028E-02 8.704E-02 2.680E-02 4.025E-02 .1696.147E-02 .887
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a Rotation converged in 22 iterations. Of the bold factor loadings, all except two of them are positive. The variable “I could not
get a job elsewhere” and variable “I saw tourism as the most profitable industry for a
business” are motives, which work in opposite directions. The same phenomenon is for
variables “It was easy to start a business in tourism” and” I wanted to establish my own
business”, which looks unrealistic and one of the reasons may be the sample errors
mentioned before.
The "Total Variance Explained" following table shows the eigenvalues, which are the
proportion of total variance in all the variables, which is accounted for by that factor.
Only ten are extracted for analysis because, under the Extraction options, SPSS was told
to extract only factors with eigenvalues of 1.0 or higher.
The "Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings" give the eigenvalues after rotation improves
the interpretability of the factors (we used Varimax rotation, which minimizes the
number of variables which have high loadings on each given factor). The ten factors
solution satisfies both Kaiser’s criterion of selection. Note that the total percent of
variance explained is 76.328% (see the cumulative value for factor 10). That is, after
rotation each extracted factor counts for a different percentage of variance explained,
23
even though the total variance explained is the same. Also, each factor is named in
accordance with the meaning of the correlated variables as well as in line with the five
hypotheses.
Total Variance Explained
Factor Factor Name Initial Eigenvalues % of Variance
Cumulative %
1 Refugee 3.472 13.887 13.887 2 Desire for Change 2.781 11.125 25.012 3 Total Income 2.215 8.859 33.872 4 Change emergencies 2.136 8.545 42.417 5 Self-actualization 1.823 7.294 49.711 6 Entrepreneurship 1.646 6.582 56.293 7 Attractiveness 1 1.549 6.197 62.490 8 Satisfaction 1.249 4.995 67.484 9 Fulfillment 1.180 4.721 72.206
10 Attractiveness 2 1.031 4.123 76.328 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. The major contribution of the factor analysis to the research is that it supports the
existence of five hypotheses. So, the five hypothesis of the research are true.
V. Conclusions and Recommendations.
It is time now to (re)present the arguments and issues covered in the previews
paragraphs, and advance some conclusions and recommendations related to the topic.
Tourism has become an integral and increasingly important part of the economies of the
countries of central and Eastern Europe, generating employment, revenue and new
businesses. The move from state to private management, from centralization and
monopoly to decentralization and competition, has been as painful and costly as it was
necessary.
Albania is an unexplored very interesting and beautiful country with great potential in
developing different types of tourism.
The tourism industry is considered as refugee industry for employment of employees
from the other closed down or declining industries. Here naturally a question is rising up:
“Are all these employees coming into tourism because of its positive attractiveness or as
24
the only opportunity to get a future job?” Generally respondents see tourism as a good
opportunity to increase their income, to be more satisfied, as well as a good opportunity
to invest their capitals. But, there is a question mark over accuracy of facts gathered from
the questionnaire. It is related to seriousness of the respondents in filling out a
questionnaire.
Except being target of the investments shifting from the other declining industry, tourism
is an attractive industry for the new investments, especially in hotels and restaurants.
Compared to other countries experience, when, even in case of ownership or control not
separated, entrepreneurs are seeking for prestige tourism developments more than big
profits in short term, in Albania they are looking for big profits in shortest time. Also, it
has to be considered that some of these businesses are operating as part of informal
economy.
Tourism has an impact, not significant in absolute value but at increase rate through
years, in the employment phenomena. It is important to emphasize, that, there is not yet
included in the main national statistical sources, the impact of tourism in the GDP, which
is the most representative indicator of the tourism contribution. From the respondents
tourism in Albania is not considered a low-wage industry, and statistically for year 2000
average monthly salary and wage per employee for the service sector (considered only
tourism) are 130124 higher than trade and construction sector.
Sustainable Tourism development has to be taken under consideration from strategy
design to its implementation.
From the facts, in general, tourism in Albania looks like in the other country described in
different studies. But, it is important to say that in case of following up the other models 4 INSTAT –statistical yearbook 1993-2001:119
25
of development it is necessary to adapt with specifics of our country before implementing
them.
A better cooperation between the tourism industry and the universities in order to let
them know what we offer, and for us to know better what the industry really needs. This
would help, firstly, in developing better curricula and syllabus, in a better marketing of
the knowledge’s of our graduates, and secondly, in the quality of the service of this
industry. In line with that our research could be more valuable to the local and national
development of tourism.
The last but not the least is the importance of political stability in Albania as preliminary
condition for a country to be developed and integrated.
Literature 1. Baum, Tom “Human Issues in International Tourism”. Butterworth-
Heinemann: Oxford, 1993. 2. Blanton, David “Tourism Education in developing Countries”. Practicing
Anthropology. Vol. 14, Nr 2, 1992. 3. Chambers, Erve “Social and Cultural Aspects of Tourism in Thailand”,
Kasetsart University: Bangkok, 1997. 4. Chambers, Erve. ( 1997). “Tourism and Culture, an applied perspective”, Kasetsart
University : Bangkok 5. Edith Szivas & Michael Riley “Tourism Employment during Economic Transition”, Annals
of Tourism Research, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp 747-771, Elsevier Science Ltd., 1999.
6. Goeldner, C and Ritchie, J. ‘Tourism. Principles, Practices, Philosophies”, New Jersey,
2003.
7. Kryger, Tony (Statistics Group), “The economic significance of Tourism” research Note 18 1999-2000, 30 November 1999. Taken in http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1999-2000/200rn18.htm
8. Lee, Sang M. & Luthans, Fredd “Management in Albania”, University of Nebraska. 9. Rátz, Tamara & Puczkó, László “Rural Tourism And Sustainable Development”, Kodolányi
János College - Budapest University of Economic Sciences, Paper presented in the "Rural Tourism Management: Sustainable Options" International Conference, September 1998, SAC, Auchincruive, Scotland Part 1.
10. Rátz, Tamara “Transformation of Hungarian Tourism Education Budapest University of Economic Sciences”, Paper presented in the 2. International Conference on Education and Training in Tourism and Hospitality Studies, Dahab, Egypt, 1997 April.
11. “Ecotourism: Threat or Opportunity?”, The Bulletin Spring 1996, taken in http://www.rec.org/REC/Bulletin/Bull61/interview.html
12. Stepová, Vlasta, “Report of Committee on Economic Affairs and Development”, Czech Republic, Socialist Group, Doc. 7976, 23 December 1997
13. INSTAT –statistical yearbook 1993-2001