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The billions that Albania is benefiting from "tourism of happiness"

2024-11-01 11:00:13Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The billions that Albania is benefiting from "tourism of happiness"
Illustrative photo

AFP
It used to be Europe's North Korea, a closed communist dictatorship. But now Albania attracts millions of tourists a year, with a growing number coming in search of a radiant smile, luscious lips or better breasts.

"I don't like to talk about medical tourism. It's a bit scary", said Dritan Gremi, who runs a dental clinic in the capital Tirana.

" I prefer to talk about happiness tourism, which makes people happy ".

Gremi said his clinic offers "high-quality care with guaranteed and certified equipment" according to European standards at a fraction of the price.

He has Italian, French, Belgian and Swiss clients often lured with packages that include travel and accommodation costs.

With scandals over shoddy work and disfigured clients taking some of the shine of medical tourism elsewhere, Albanian health authorities say they insist on high-quality care.

Prosecutors raided 30 cosmetic clinics this month looking for contraband products and Botox, which is banned in Albania.

Smile sale

Stephane Pealat's journey to Albania started with hopes for a new, affordable smile.

He and his brother, who are from Valence in the south of France, have long suffered from dental problems, including tooth loss that prompted him to seek a complex dental implant procedure.

"In France we had an initial estimate that was very, very expensive. Then we started looking online — Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania, Spain,” Pealat told AFP.

He learned about the Gremi clinic during a consultation session in Lyon with Albanian dentists.

After an initial visit in August to tour facilities in Tirana, Pealati and his brother returned in the fall.

According to Pealat, the dental implant surgery he opted for cost approximately 50,000 euros ($54,000) in France, compared to just 13,500 euros in Albania.

It was not too small for Pealat.

" It is important to have a beautiful smile ," he said.

Nathalie Gangloff, who works as an event organizer at a nursing home in Cognac in western France, also chose a clinic in Albania to treat her dental problems.

" My doctor in France told me about a television documentary " about medical tourism in Albania, Gangloff told AFP.

She paid under €15,000 to have her teeth done compared to the €42,000 she would have had to spend in France.

After extractions and implants in February, she returned to Tirana in mid-September for her final work, happy to have her smile back.

"With my job, it's important to have nice teeth and a good hairstyle," she told AFP, saying she immediately changed her Facebook profile picture to show her young, white teeth.

Love and happiness

Low costs and taxes have helped Albanian clinics attract customers with lower prices.

The country's medical tourism sector is estimated to earn between 200 and 250 million euros a year, with at least 50,000 Italians visiting Tirana for treatment each year.

However, the procedures are not without risk.

The head of the National Association of Doctors of Albania, Fatmir Ibrahimaj, said that foreign and local patients should not rely only on online advertisements for aesthetic procedures, but should be well informed before undergoing treatment.

" A doctor is not a five-star or no-star hotel ," Ibrahimaj told reporters.

For Anna Maria, Italian from Milan, " the smile of the soul also passes through the lips" .

The psychologist in her 30s - who did not want to give her last name - visited Albania for dental braces and a lip procedure in the hope of improving her smile.

"More and more foreign tourists are getting cosmetic treatments to brighten their smile," said Monika Fida, dermatologist and university lecturer in Tirana.

Hyaluronic acid injections in the lips are particularly popular.

"Above all, they want to feel good and have lips formed as naturally as possible", added Fida, who said that every year 750 to 1000 foreign patients visit her clinic.

Vera Panaitov, a 60-year-old Italian cook from Verona, first came to have her teeth done.

But upon arriving in Tirana, she also opted for breast and waist procedures.

" You should be beautiful at any age and experience love and happiness at every moment ," she told AFP, smiling from her hospital bed, saying she felt " happy and renewed . "

Christine Cincunegui, a French businesswoman, may soon follow.

In Paris, she looked set to proceed with a dental procedure in Albania after consulting with practitioners who visited the French capital.

"Feel more beautiful and have fun? What do we want more?" she told AFP.


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