By Lee San

My good friend Gazi, a prominent figure in the Albanian tourist industry, would send me short messages weekly, sending me his warm greetings while keeping me abreast of the latest developments and trends in international tourism.

As a matter of fact, the tiny Balkan state of Albania with its land area of 28,748 km² and a population of only 2.9 million, has so far recorded 267,020 COVID-19 cases and 3,402 deaths. Less than 40% of the country’s population have completed two doses of the vaccine while daily new infection numbers average more than 680 cases.

The thing is, Albania has since day one of the pandemic adopted the policy of living with the virus. They have never enforced any antivirus measure nor mandated the wearing of face masks in public, while schools and businesses have continued to operate as usual.

As if that’s not enough, the country has never once shut its borders, and everyone is allowed to travel in and out freely, tourism activities thriving as ever. In other words, the Albanians have accumulated lots of experiences “living with the virus” and can therefore lead their everyday lives as if nothing has happened to them.

Despite the fact Gazi himself has been infected with the coronavirus twice in the last two years, he has never stopped flying everywhere, for business or leisure. Sure enough he is well aware of the fact that the world is a big global village and no country can be spared from the impact of antivirus measures on international economy and tourism.

Every country in this world has its own way of fighting the virus, some adopting a stringent zero-tolerance policy while others are more complacent with a tidak apa attitude. Whichever approach is adopted, one thing for certain is that none is perfect and impeccable. Whether a strategy is right or wrong, we have to admit that ordinary citizens have all paid a very heavy price for it. They are not only separated from their loved ones, their physical health has also been greatly compromised. I know you will argue that as long as we stay alive, there’s always hope for tomorrow!

WHO has said that the end of the global pandemic will not be determined by how powerful the defence line of rich and developed countries is, but rather the vaccination rates of poor countries, meaning we can’t end the pandemic by shutting our borders in our globalised world today in a bid to break the infection chain, as this will bring infinite damages to our economy and society in the long run.

Isn’t it so? During the past two years experimenting with our antivirus measures, we have almost exhausted all our resources. In the end, the whole world gets a common answer, that much of our effort has been wasted. Fortunately people in most countries have been loyally complying with the antivirus protocols, as we do our part to stop the virus, seal our borders, work from home, attend online classes, shop online, wear our masks, observe social distancing rules and receive a third booster dose. But just as we have somewhat contained the virus and begin to take a breather, we are slapped with yet another new restrictive order just because of a handful of people. And the cycle goes on and on. Apparently the government has been drained of resources and everyone gets physically and mentally exhausted, not to mention loads of hidden complications awaiting to burst into action.

To be honest, many business owners are now struggling to stay afloat, and we are not just talking about one or two well established Hong Kong style cafes. As a matter of fact, every industry is going through the same ordeal. Even the wage earners have their savings dried up, their jobs and directions lost. And that’s not the end of the story. In the days to come, they will continue to struggle under the insurmountable pressure from day-to-day life, family and children problems, illnesses, natural disasters, spiralling inflation and an endless stream of negative news on corrupt politicians.

I would like to ask our government leaders which way we would be headed to after the pandemic?

With the Omicron variant now penetrating deep into our community and daily new infection numbers registering new highs in many countries, is such stringent border closure of any practical help at all?

Many countries have eventually opted to face the reality and accept the proposal of scientists, medical and economic experts by easing their border controls to reinstate international visits in a bid to revitalise their economy and tourist industry, while allowing their people to go on with their day-to-day living, even though such a move has drawn polarised views from the public.

Up till this point, if the government is still unable to come up with 100% effective solutions, why not just conditionally and progressively open our doors while allowing the health ministry to continue to lead the nation in its antivirus campaign, as we continue to dutifully adhere to the SOPs to ready ourselves for life after the pandemic? Don’t tell me you have a better solution out there!

Gazi mentioned in his short message this week: After more than two years, the world now seems to go with the “Albanian solution’!

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has travelled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)