Post Date: 08/04/2024
CERTIFICATION ISO 13009 TOURISM AND RELATED SERVICES – REQUIREMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEACH ACTIVITIES
FORWARD
ALBANIA is a territory of extraordinary beauty: seas and coasts characterize the Albanian tourist scene and coastal regions are the favorite destination of visitors from every corner of the world, for this reason coastal tourism is considered an important sector of the national economy. The use and transformation of the ownership of the sea and the increase in the use of the coast has encouraged the development of a sectoral economy with a great potential, also in terms of employment.
In the changed legal context, which introduces new ways of granting concessions, from the principles of free competition, quality of services and environmental sustainability, as well as according to the Albanian legislation mentioned in VKM No. 171, dated 27.3.2019 ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE RULES “FOR THE CONDITIONS AND CRITERIA OF THE EXERCISE OF THE BEACH STATION ACTIVITY. In support of Article 100 of the Constitution and Point 2, Article 64, of Law No. 93/2015, “For tourism”, as amended, but also the EU European Directive (Bolkestein Directive 2006/123/CE), interesting economic and investment opportunities can be consolidated.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Coastal operator who decides to obtain ISO 13009 certification – “Tourism and related services. Requirements and recommendations for beach operation” may have a competitive advantage over competitors interested in participating in the upcoming competition for beach concessions. Certification according to this norm, in fact, provides clients and the local and central administration that grant concessions a high level of services in terms of quality, sustainability and accessibility.
Our organization “e-Cert” proposes a project for the certification of structures (coastal stations, campsites and villages, sports clubs) that manage beaches in the concession, at sea, but also on the coasts of rivers and lakes, based on the ISO 13009 standard which identifies quality requirements, sustainability and accessibility that allow concessionaires to fulfill the principles of Albanian legislation and the European Directive.
METODOLOGJIA JONË
Certification according to the ISO 13009 standard takes into account not only the quality of tourist services, but also the capacity of the concessionaire to maintain the level of ownership in the concession throughout the year, to manage environmental risks and emergencies, to minimize impacts on the environment, as elements important in future concession procedures.
The main stages of the certification process include:
- determination of the purpose of certification, initial verification (upon request):
- gap analysis and assessment of the concessionaire’s current compliance with normative requirements, certification verification in two stages (stage 1 & 2):
- verification of system compliance with ISO 13009 standard and issuance of certificate, annual monitoring visits to assess continuous improvement, renewal of certification after 3 years after a complete verification.
- After each visit, a clear and complete report is submitted to the company, allowing it to continuously improve its performance in quality management according to ISO 13009.
What are the main advantages for certified businesses?
Coastal businesses with certified quality services have more opportunities to win concession tenders. Coastal businesses with certified quality services can better meet the requirements for sustainable business management, low environmental impact of structures, provision of services such as security, information and communication, cleanliness and waste collection, good level of accessibility. , fun socially useful activities, etc… The certification helps the Organization in the processes of communication and promotion of the tourist structure, paying close attention to customer satisfaction.
CERTIFICATION WITH “e-Cert”
Our “e-Cert” organization, thanks to many years of experience in the certification of Management Systems, has professional auditors and inspectors throughout the Albanian territory, who, with a high level of competence, training and preparation, ensure the client duration and quality.
In addition to the certification service, “e-Cert” can offer a pre-verification service with which to have a preliminary assessment of the compliance of your beach with the requirements of ISO 13009:2018.