Green Destinations Award for Sarandë, Albania
Albania’s premier beach destination through the Sector of Projects, has successfully applied for recognition of its sustainability policy and achievements through the Green Destinations Award program. This program certifies and promotes sustainable tourist destinations at an international level in accordance with environmental, socio-economic and cultural criteria.
After a period of extensive preparation and reporting of substantive dossiers covering more than 100 sustainability criteria and indicators, and an independent on-site audit, the Bronze Green Destinations Award level was attributed to Sarandë, indicating excellence in all fields of sustainable destination management such as nature and heritage conservation, waste management, energy and climate. The award is also a recognition for the destinations’ efforts to sustain the attractiveness of its tourism in the future. Not only visible, tangible aspects are measured, such as natural heritage, but also policy and management plans that take sustainable development principles into account.
As one of the improvements for the future, it was recommended to pay attention to creating a comprehensive sustainable tourism management plan that includes further development of visitor engagement initiatives, more in-depth monitoring of certain areas, and addressing potential light pollution.
Since 2024, Sarandë has participated in the Top 100 Destinations Sustainability Stories competition. This Green Destinations Bronze Award is a major step-up towards fully evidence-based and independently verified certification of sustainability performance in accordance with international standards dictated by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)).
The Award was officially presented to Sarandë during the Green Destinations Awards at ITB Berlin, on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025, at 18:00 on the Blue Stage (Hall 7.1).