Some three years ago, we just started making the tour operators and tourism agencies interested in developing birdwatching as potential ecotourism activity in Albania. Following our common efforts, together with our patners RISIAlbania and Partners Albania for Change and Development, the first devoted birdwatchers came in 2015 in Divjaka-Karavasta, Narta and Valbona. Nowadays the map of the visited birdwatching areas has drastically increased. Tours are being developed also in Shkodra lake, Buna-Velipoja, Theth and Vermosh, Koman, Prespa and Butrint. Just in three years the number of visited sites had increased from 3 to 11. Meanwhile the number of visitors is more than impressive. Some 4000 foreign visitors come for bird watching in Albania with Divjaka-Karavasta National Park being by far the most visited site. Yet, this type of ecoturism has to know greater potentials. We are continuing to cooperate with tour operators to spread it all over Albania as a contribution to the sustainable local livelihood.
