Berat County

Berat County demonstrates how architectural heritage becomes an economic keystone species. Known as the 'City of a Thousand Windows,' Berat's UNESCO-protected Ottoman core attracts visitors who create ripple effects through the local economy—a biological phenomenon where one species disproportionately structures an entire ecosystem. The Osum River carved the valley that drew Illyrian settlers 2,400 years ago, and the same geography that made it defensible now channels tourists past hillside vineyards and olive groves.

The county's economy exhibits classic source-sink dynamics. While tourism and viticulture provide nutrients in the form of revenue, the region remains classified among Albania's low-consumption areas, with high dependency on pensions and remittances from emigrants. This pattern mirrors ecosystems where productive patches subsidize less productive ones. The fertile plains produce wine from indigenous grape varieties, yet processing capacity and market access remain underdeveloped.

Recent World Bank investment in heritage tourism infrastructure represents an attempt to shift Berat from a sink to a source. The strategy resembles ecological restoration: by strengthening the keystone (heritage sites), planners hope to regenerate the surrounding economic ecosystem. Whether this succeeds depends on whether tourism revenue remains local or leaks to Tirana-based operators—a crucial test of whether Berat can capture value rather than merely host visitors.