The 2023 tourist season saw a spectacular surge in number of tourists who chose to visit Albania. More than 1.1 million foreign tourists visited Albania in September alone, registering a 30% year-on-year increase. Official data show that over 8.3 million foreign arrivals visited Albania in the nine-month period from January through September 2023 or 1.9 more foreign visitors compared to the same period of the previous year.
An inter-institutional meeting took place to take stock of the summer tourist season, the most successful season ever in terms of the tourism revenue and contribution to the national economy, as well as in terms of new standards in cleanliness, security, hospitality. The meeting marks the beginning of a discussion process due to include all the involved stakeholders in the common effort to further improve tourism industry standards and ensure sustainable year-round tourism development.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Today’s meeting, more than successful conclusion of the summer tourist season, marks the opening of a discussion process that we will go on with all the stakeholders involved in the joint effort to turn Albania in 2030 into a regional champion, because everything we have witnessed this season is actually the outcome of persistent work, great effort put forth by a significant number of factors. However, it is also an accomplishment that in no way should make us feel like we have really achieved as it is just a station along still an uphill path and indeed this year’s tourist boom, in addition to the incredibly positive effects, also presented us with sharp challenges that we must start addressing immediately.
On the other hand, we should all be aware – and by saying we should be all aware I mean the government bodies, as well as the tourism industry operators – that the danger for this fame and tourist boom to backfire is very high should we fail to prepare to meet a definitely very high demand next year, because the impact of all this global media coverage of this surprise called Albania this year will attract higher interest and bring about higher demand next year.
There are definitely many reasons for us to be proud of the work we have delivered on and there are certainly also many reasons for us to feel that the effort and patience to climb the ladder from a really not very encouraging starting point and, on the other hand, we have we also see meaningful signs of the fact that we can build a 365-day tourism season in Albania. To this end, we must be very aware of what we have achieved and what we have achieved comes with a challenge.
Over 1.1 million foreign tourists visited Albania in September. The 1.1 million foreign visitors is practically a much higher figure than the one registered last September, when we recorded 7 million tourists until end of August. If the visitor numbers will maintain the current trend in November and December, we can potentially deliver on the 10-million tourist target. However, in any scenario, Albania is bound to register a total of 9 million visitors, a figure that would have taken extreme courage just to utter it just a few years ago.
This year’s tourist season recorded highest security level in the last 30 years with murder rate dropping by 40% and it is the best season compared to a year ago.
This year, Albania has surprised many people because, and it is not us, but the European barometer ranked Albania with the lowest rate of residential burglaries in the continent, not in the European Union, but in the continent, in the European continent. England ranked first for the burglary rate.
This has also definitely been the cleanest tourist season as Albania is increasingly becoming cleaner.
The infrastructure access is also much better than ever before. The hospitality and accommodation industry is at its best than ever before. A new phenomenon has taken place this year; no that it started this year, but this year saw the phenomenon of renting apartments and private homes by tourists via the Airbnb.
Which are the reasons for us to worry and which are the challenges facing us? It is exactly these issues. Security. We have better control in preventing road accidents. Why should we worry about cleanliness? Yes, there are reasons for us to worry. I would start with tackling the sewerage, wastewater and wash-water. I have learned a lot about things I didn’t know anything about previously and one can do so if committed to best delivering on his duties. And I would present the wash-water concept that includes the sea, lake and river waters, which should in no way mix with sewage water and this could be a matter of the sewerage investment master-plan.
Let’s focus on the infrastructure. It is an element with many reasons for us to worry when facing the challenges that we need to win over quickly and there are also all the reasons for us to believe we can win them quickly, because, firs of all, the access to airport has been expanded and it will further multiply once construction of Vlora international airport completes. Second; port access has been improved and the tourist ports will further expand, taking into consideration the need that everyone should understand that the decision-making process on construction of tourist ports is direct responsibility of the government and neither the Constitution nor any national law or institution are entitled to decide whether such ports are needed or not. The same goes about the highways and corridors.
The work is already underway on construction of the most tourist corridor, namely the Adriatic-Ionian Blue Corridor with the Thumane-Kashar segment and the agreements on other road segments are about to be finalized. So, practically construction work will finally kick off and a corridor, meeting the European standards, will stretch from Montenegro to Vlora.
The hospitality and accommodation sector needs to develop further and there is an increased demand for construction of more hotels. However, I would go back to an element that concerns Albania so that the country is not perceived and considered a low cost tourist destination. We don’t want and we can’t be a low cost tourist destination. Of course, the country should also offer the low cost tourism, but it should be combined with the high-profile tourism that attracts big consumers, as they can help the economy to generate more revenue. To put the record straight, what 400 yachts can generate is equal to what can be earned from 40000 low cost visitors. This is also valid for those who wonder why we support yachts. We don’t support yachts, we support economy.
This is all I had to say and I would like to conclude with high optimism and by voicing confidence that Albanian tourism will be taken to a whole new level next year. I am confident that we will turn Albania into a year-round tourist destination within this decade, just like I am confident that what we are actually doing with the coastal areas, we will definitely do also in the mountainous areas across northern Albania that offers a tremendous and largely undiscovered potential.
Thank you!
