Booming tourism and climate change threaten Albania’s coast

TIRANA: Albania’s coast is being hit by a double whammy of climate change and chaotic tourist development.
From Velipoja in the north where the waves are swallowing a century-old forest, to the tourist hotspot of Golem where galloping construction of hotels and restaurants is accelerating erosion, the country’s often spectacular Adriatic coast is under threat.
“Out of Albania’s 273 kilometres (169 miles) of coastline some 154 are affected by erosion,” urban planning specialist Besjana Shehu told AFP.
Tourism in the Balkan nation is booming, from 5.1 million visitors in 2018 to 10.1 million in 2023. But new hotels, restaurants and beach bars are also taking their toll on nature.
Rising sea level due to climate change is further…