Peeping Tourist. The case of Albturist and Kosovar Albanian Visitors
Session
Management Business and Economics
Description
In recent years, tourism has become one of the primary sectors of the Albanian economy, contrasting with the communist era when, under Karl Marx's ideology, it was believed that "services do not influence the creation of the gross domestic product of a country." This paper seeks to shed light on the history of Albturist, the monopolistic entity responsible for developing tourism, serving as the sole incoming agent, and its role in selecting visitors, hosting them, organizing tours within the country, and monitoring tourists, who primarily came from communist countries. This article aims to analyze the development of Albturist's role, which included a secondary (hidden) function to keep tourists under surveillance, turning it into "a shelter for Albanian intelligence surveillance." Even Kosovar Albanian visitors, whether individuals or institutional delegations, were not exempt from control and monitoring, despite leader Enver Hoxha's widespread propaganda promoting the unity of brothers beyond the borders. The article examines historical facts and testimonies from the time, sourced from the secret archives of the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, revealing that even Kosovar Albanians were subject to Albturist's surveillance activities.
Keywords:
Kosovar Albanian tourist, peeping tourist, Albturist, intelligence service, monitoring.
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-982-15-3
Location
UBT Lipjan, Kosovo
Start Date
25-10-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
27-10-2024 6:00 PM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2024.46
Recommended Citation
Licaj, Brunilda; Dreshaj, Kushtrim; Shala Dreshaj, Fatmire; and Dauti, Merita Begolli, "Peeping Tourist. The case of Albturist and Kosovar Albanian Visitors" (2024). UBT International Conference. 46.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2024UBTIC/MBE/46
Peeping Tourist. The case of Albturist and Kosovar Albanian Visitors
UBT Lipjan, Kosovo
In recent years, tourism has become one of the primary sectors of the Albanian economy, contrasting with the communist era when, under Karl Marx's ideology, it was believed that "services do not influence the creation of the gross domestic product of a country." This paper seeks to shed light on the history of Albturist, the monopolistic entity responsible for developing tourism, serving as the sole incoming agent, and its role in selecting visitors, hosting them, organizing tours within the country, and monitoring tourists, who primarily came from communist countries. This article aims to analyze the development of Albturist's role, which included a secondary (hidden) function to keep tourists under surveillance, turning it into "a shelter for Albanian intelligence surveillance." Even Kosovar Albanian visitors, whether individuals or institutional delegations, were not exempt from control and monitoring, despite leader Enver Hoxha's widespread propaganda promoting the unity of brothers beyond the borders. The article examines historical facts and testimonies from the time, sourced from the secret archives of the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, revealing that even Kosovar Albanians were subject to Albturist's surveillance activities.