Hupi stone guest house in Bulqiza, a success story

The mountain and cultural tourism offered by the guest houses of the families in North Albania is known for their great hospitality and generosity. But who could have imagined that in Bulqiza, in the village of Lepuraka, in a corner of this small town, there would be a guesthouse that welcomes thousands of local and foreign visitors.

The owner of this small piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere, Julian Hupi, has given up the safe income business of the chrome mines, to go down the uncertain path of the mountain tourism business, and host visitors in his 200-year-old stone house. “It may sound crazy, and it certainly is, but the good thing is that the business I founded some time ago has started to flourish,” says Julian, as he is working on arranging the outdoor space to be ready for the new tourist season. And he continues, “I will offer better conditions for tourists, the refurbished facilities and the service will significantly increase the number of tourists. Mr. Tobi Gessler, my Swiss supporter in this business, will be happy with the increase of service for tourists he brings from Switzerland and Germany”, he says without hiding his happiness while his face says out loud: “Yes, it was difficult, but I did it.”

The new guest houses venture in the region of Dibra is an area that can be considered a success story, when it comes to the impact it brings to a disadvantaged region in its economic and social development and revitalization. This tourism includes ecotourism, because it is precisely the environment that offers a clean and ecologically sustainable nature.

Rural and mountain tourism also includes bicycle tourism, which is very suitable for the relief of our country. It is estimated that cycling, as a method of transport will have an increase in European countries over the next ten years. An even more important segment of this market consists of visitors for whom cycling is an important additional activity during their vacation. Although in its first steps, rural and mountain tourism have yielded the first results.

We can mention some proclaimed cultural monuments of this area: Grezhdan Castle, Lashkiza Castle, Doda Castle, Ruins of Bellova, Skanderbeg City, St. Sotir Church, Church of the Transfiguration, Tasho Marko house, Allajbegija Mosque, Zef Doçi's house, and many other monuments that make the Dibra Region an attractive area for local and foreign tourists.

With its natural beauty, forests with hiking trails, small natural lakes, old stone houses full of history from the past, traditional meat-based food and agricultural products of the area, the Dibra region has much to offer to tourists throughout the year.

Julian’s investment

Although not everyone has Julian's ambition, the first rule is that if you want to increase the number of tourists in the guesthouse you have to provide the right facilities and amenities, and this will need money, probably much more than you initially calculated. “You have to be prepared to invest a lot, and not expect a return on investment immediately in the first years,” says Julian, who has invested all his savings and was determined when he decided to start a new financial journey, that of borrowing through the financial institution NOA. “I had just received a grant from ARDA for the reconstruction of the guesthouse and I needed money to implement the grant contract. I got tired at the doors of the banks that operate in Peshkopi, but the myriad of papers and endless requests were solved in 48 hours by the financial institution NOA”- says Julian. “My problem was solved in no time, thus spared me from embarrassment to the initiative for agritourism support, offered by ARDA,” he continues.

For a period of 1 year, Julian has gradually transformed the 200-year-old stone house of his ancestors into a traditional Guesthouse that reveals the cultural and gastronomic values ​​of the area, in order to provide accommodation and food for local and foreign tourists.

The guesthouse offers some traditional products of the area such as apples, plums, pears, hazelnuts, milk and its by-products, fresh meat and eggs, river fish, cornel raki, and many other products of the area, which Julian mostly provides from his garden, and partly from the farmers of the surrounding areas, products which are distinguished for their quality and values.

The summer kitchen that Julian built with the help of ARDA grant and NOA crediting in the middle of the fruit trees and the sound of the water flowing from the mountains will make the service he offers to local and foreign tourists more attractive.