Albanian 
Prishtina, April 6, 2021 – Taking into account the many changes caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, reshaping the previous reality in many industries, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo organized a virtual forum on trends in hotels, restaurants, and cafes sector ( HORECA), during 2021. Through a fruitful discussion, this forum identified some of the main challenges of this sector.
This forum was moderated by Art Jashari, Marketing Project Coordinator at KFC Kosova, who said that the pandemic has caused drastic losses of human and social lives, as well as hindered the normal development of economic life by closing borders, restricting trade as well as imposing other various measures from Governments around the world.
During this discussion, the Owner of Sirius Hotel, Sami Ahmeti, claimed that the hospitality sector is one of the most damaged sectors since the outbreak of the pandemic, emphasizing that sales have fallen drastically, in contrast to costs, which have been reduced only slightly. Asked about the potential investments for the digitalization of the hotel industry, he said that at the moment the sector is struggling for survival, and something like this has made it difficult for them to embrace new trends. Ahmeti also spoke about the reduction of the value of VAT, which he considered a great help that should continue in the future as well.
Meanwhile, the board member of Sach Corporation, Flamur Breznica noted the role that the hotel, restaurants and cafes sector plays in the country’s economy, saying that it is one of the most important factors of the latter. Speaking about the new trends created by the need to adapt to dealing with the pandemic, Breznica said that work has been going on for a long time in the process of digitalization, which is necessary to reach a point equal to world trends.