TIRANA, Aug 7 /ATA/ Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports Blendi Gonxhja announced today that 1,955,099 foreign visitors travelled to Albania in July 2026, compared with 1,825,490 visitors in July 2025.
In a social media post, Gonxhja said that “this represents an increase of 129,609 visitors, or around 7.1% growth compared with the same month last year. Compared with June 2026, July saw 608,820 more foreign visitors, marking a 45.22% month-on-month increase.”
According to him, the figures point to a strong recovery following the slowdown recorded in June.
While the January–May 2026 period saw an 8.2% increase compared with the same period in 2025, growth slowed to 1.3% in June before rebounding to 7.1% in July.
“These results show that the slowdown in June did not turn into a sustained downward trend. On the contrary, July marked a significant recovery, approaching the strong growth pace recorded during the first five months of the year,” Gonxhja said.
However, Gonxhja noted that had the growth trend recorded in June 2026 continued, foreign visitor numbers in July would have reached an estimated 2,094,542. The actual figure of 1,955,099 visitors was therefore 139,443 lower, representing a shortfall of around 6.7% compared with the projected July 2026 scenario.
Minister Gonxhja said that “the continued impact of protests and the highly damaging incidents involving attacks on businesses in Albania’s hospitality industry during July are concerning developments for the tourism sector.”
“On the other hand, events have proven vital in generating tourism and economic activity. In July in particular, festivals and themed itineraries, celebrations, and major events such as the YE (Kanye West) event in Tirana, numerous shows and concerts by independent artists as well as institutions and municipalities, legendary performances such as Zucchero’s night, and various international events and conferences held in the country have all had a positive impact,” Gonxhja said.
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