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Topless sunbathers on a beach
© AFP/File

Edmon Gjoka, the mayor of Saranda, a picturesque coastal town some 300 kilometers (180 miles) south from Tirana, told AFP that a group of 30 tourists, mostly women, visited on a day trip from the neighbouring Greek island of Corfu on Tuesday a public beach popular with locals.

The police did not know how to react to the unusual behaviour by foreign tourists, the mayor explained.

"The situation was delicate: Albanian parents were pressing the police to prevent the Scandinavians from swimming nude in front of their children," Gjoka said.

But further incidents were avoided when a guide explained to the tourists that nude sun-bathing and swimming were not allowed in Albania, local media reported.

"It is forbidden to swim nude on public beaches as they are usually in the centre of the town, but the police did not intervene in order to avoid misunderstandings," said Saranda police chief Limoz Fallani.

One newspaper reported the police had been reluctant to react as they "spoke no English."

"It was a real topless parade and we had to leave the beach with our children," said 40-year old Frida Agolli.

But Gjoka said a possibility of opening a "topless beach" in Saranda should be examined.

"Why not think about it, as such an offer could attract foreign tourists to visit," Gjoka said.

Nudity and topless sun-bathing are still taboo in Albania, one of the poorest European countries. However, many young Albanians often visit remote beaches to enjoy nudity.

For several years now, Albanian officials have been promoting the country and its untouched miles of beaches along the Adriatic and Aegean seas, in a bid to attract foreign tourists.

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