The winners of the first edition of the International Photo and Video Reels Competition "Wanderlust in Albania", who conveyed the magic of Tourist Albania, seen through the eyes of passionate tourists and visitors, were crowned with awards on the evening of December 12 in a festive atmosphere at the Brigades Palace.
At the gala evening, the Director General of the National Tourism Agency, Zana Çela, expressed her enthusiasm for the achievements of this competition in just ten days and underlined that: "We thought of starting a new journey, to promote Albania as a tourist destination through the most authentic storytellers, the visitors themselves. Today we will tell you an unfiltered, visually documented story of Albania as a tourist destination. The beauty of Albania is the protagonist of this fascinating story", said Ms. Çela.
In her welcoming speech, the Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro, praised the participants and winners of the "Wanderlust in Albania" Competition as a digital marketing agency and true ambassadors for the promotion of Albania Tourism.
"I have modestly tried to promote on my personal pages by name all those passionate about photography, who brought us so beautifully through their lens Albania as a tourist, but why not do it institutionally, because all these photographers and videomakers, each with their work, created a digital marketing agency, which promoted Albania of the coast, of summer festivals, but also as an autumn destination with 547 thousand tourists during November, as well as among the winter destinations with the most beautiful Christmas markets", emphasized Minister Kumbaro.
During the gala evening, the 33 winners of the photographs and video reels for the 11 categories of the competition were announced by the international jury, as well as the two winners of the most liked photograph and the most selected video reel voted by the public on the Facebook page of the National Tourism Agency.
One of the prestigious awards of this competition was "Ambassador in the Promotion of Albanian Tourism", an award given to four renowned Albanian photographers, who have captured and discovered through their lens the tourist magic of Albania from every corner of our country.
Fation Plaku, Albert Cmeta, Ardian Fezollari and Alket Islami were announced as Ambassadors of Albanian Tourism.
The evening of the awards ceremony of the "Wanderlust in Albania" Competition was accompanied by a festive atmosphere worthy of the end of the year, where the sounds of traditional Albanian music and rhythms resounded under the outstanding interpretation and brilliant voice of Vikena Kamenica.
In just ten days of applications, in the first edition of the International Competition "Wanderlust in Albania", a total of 6284 photographs and 746 Video Reels from Tourist Albania were collected; with a geographical participation map of 687 competitors from 42 countries around the world, from the Australian continent, India, Japan, China to Europe.
This special event, attended by heads of state institutions, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps in Tirana, the media, tourism and hotel associations, as well as the winning competitors, comes as an idea to become an annual tradition and celebrate the beauty and creativity dedicated to Albania's tourism.
Below is the list of winners of the First International Reels Photo and Video Competition "Wanderlust in Albania" by category.
Agrotourism
Aldo Mustafa
Anxhi Celiku
Mirela Andoni (Reels)
architecture
Ergys Temali
Elvis Vrioni
Adelina Marku (Reels)
Handicraft
Mikaela Lala
Carolyn Perry
Thomas Hadinger (Reels)
Ekoturizmi
Buys Chaka
Anxhi Celiku
Thomas Hadinger (Reels)
Folklore
Ardian Fezollari
Naxhije Elezi
Bjori Thana (Reels)
Photo reportage
Albert Cmeta
Zeni Alia
Sara Zekaj (Reels)
Monuments
Nikolay Shabarkov
Anthony Lombardi
Duli Kasmi (Reels)
Panoramic
Altin Serani
Dajana Reci
Beatrice Chan (Reels)
Scenery
Fation Old Man
Buys Chaka
Aldo Tare (Reels)
TEA
Idlir Abazaj
Ina Tepshi
Nurjana Mullai (Reels)
Sports tourism
Alket Islam
Aida Dhefto
Altin Serani (Reels)
Audience Award Winners
Sualdo Dino (Photographer)
Sara Zekaj (Reels)
Ambassadors for the promotion of Albanian Tourism
Fation Old Man
Ardian Fezollari
Albert Cmeta
Alket Islam
