As Albania sees a surge in visitors, foreign workers, mainly from the Philippines, are filling staff shortages.
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00:00These housekeepers from the Philippines have been working in this four-star hotel in the Albanian capital Tirana since January.
00:07They can hardly speak a word of Albanian, so Google Translate is absolutely indispensable.
00:18Tourism in Albania has really taken off in the last five years.
00:22While this is certainly a welcome development, it comes with a number of challenges.
00:26Due to a shortage of local staff, businesses have started hiring foreign workers,
00:30which means they have to spend more on accommodation and food for staff.
00:33But there are benefits.
00:57Ivan Resolta is also from the Philippines. He is a cook.
01:01Before coming here, he worked in Kuwait.
01:04He's content in Albania and plans to stay here for at least five years.
01:10The salary is high compared to when I was working in the Middle East.
01:15Also, it's high in the Philippines, so the gap of the salary is still much higher.
01:20It's okay here, the living is good.
01:23According to Albania's Institute of Statistics, 8.2 million tourists visited the country between January and August.
01:30Albania has a population of 2.7 million.
01:33Just under 11,000 foreigners were working in the country at the end of 2023.
01:38But some experts say that hiring abroad is not the most sustainable solution.
01:43It's not easy to get a job in a hotel.
01:51Or a flat in a hotel.
01:55This can affect the quality of the workers,
01:59whether they come from Asia or other countries, from Africa or from everywhere.
02:06But the main thing for an industry is to be qualified.
02:11Back at the hotel, Rezata Bregu considers the hiring of foreign staff a temporary solution
02:17because of the difficulties involved in planning staff availability.
02:21There is no guarantee that you will not be fired.
02:24Unless you have a contract, unless you have some obligations that the agency has taken care of.
02:31But for the moment, Albania relies on foreign staff to keep the country's booming tourism sector running smoothly.