TIRANA, October 13 /ATA/ Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro stated today in the Parliament that, “During January-August period tourists in Saranda recorded a significant increase where over 250 thousand visitors entered the port-city. In September, this year there were 32 136 visitors compared to 7 636 in September 2021”.
In her response to the interpellation requested by the Democratic Party MP Ina Zhupa, Kumbaro said that, “Saranda is a recommended destination also mentioned in foreign media articles. Thus, the Swiss media suggested on August 28 the 5 favorite destinations for September and Saranda was on top of the list. Another headline a week ago described it as “the taste of the Caribbean in Saranda”. Saranda is the typical case when the tourist season does not end with August, but continues in September with tour groups and hotels booked until September 15th. The tourists are different, Germans, Italians, Poles and pre-planned groups from the Nordic groups.
“This September is the best in terms of the number of tourists and taking of the accommodation places. Even October is better than last year’s October as bookings continue. It is also rather important the return of cruises that were previously absent due to the pandemic. The first cruise arrived in Saranda on April 8, the next cruise stopped on October 11 and the other on October 25,” added Kumbaro.
According to her, the bookings are significant, in May-June over 60% of the capacity was reserved, in the July-August period the hotel units were 100% occupied.
“There are 900 accommodation units, hotels and second homes, i.e. 25,000 beds. If compared to the same period last year, we have a flow of 25%,” said Kumbaro.
Kumbaro noted that, “This summer, from June 1 to September 15, there has regularly been at least one article per week in prestigious media promoting tourism and destinations in Albania, such as in Financial Time, Le Monde, CNN, The Guardian, etc.”
Speaking about the cleanliness of the beaches, Kumbaro said that, “In Saranda alone, there were carried out 80 inspections in 2 peak months. The public beaches have been a model for cleanliness of the surveillance services. We have started work for the next season. Talking about tourism would take many more sessions because this year tourism has been better than every year”.
“Public beaches have been a model in terms of safety, too. The municipality has collected over 64 million new lekë which have been returned to the public for cleaning services, maintenance and the recycling station”, said Kumbaro.
Kumbaro emphasized that, “The certification of marine tourism operators is an obligation. Subjects not certified for this type of economic activity will not be allowed to exercise their activity. And according to the World Tourism Organization, Albania is ranked second in the world for the recovery of tourism after the pandemic, starting from the number of foreign visitors until July with 19% more than in 2019”./k.s/j.p/p.s./
