APPLICABILITY OF ANTI-COVID-19 MEASURES AND THEIR IMPACT UPON THE PERCEPTIONS ON THE SAFETY AND IMAGE OF THE STRUCTURE OF TOURISM CASE STUDY; ALBANIA

At present, Albania lacks original studies that examine the role of safety and security as an important factor in the competitiveness of a tourist destination. In order to fill this gap, the article aims to measure the perception level regarding the recognition of the Safety and Security pillar and its standards, to assess the role of the image of Albania as a significant component in tourism development and to analyse the relationship of the image of Albania to security and performance of the state institutions. The methodology used combines information collected from interviews of the actors contributing to the Albanian tourism sector with the related official documentation and literature reviews. The paper supports application of the factor analysis method regarding perception of the actors and interest groups involved in the tourism sector. The findings indicate that the Safety and Security pillar standards are not familiar to the actors contributing to the sector of tourism in Albania. The main performance components in the tourism sector are the security and performance of the state institutions.