The figures show a total of 834,966 overnight stays between January and March, including 308,781 by domestic tourists and 526,185 by foreign visitors.

According to Eurostat, growth in Albania was driven by both domestic and foreign tourism.

Overnight stays by domestic tourists increased by 14.1%, while those by foreign visitors rose by 9.6% compared with the first quarter of 2025.

The data show that Albania ranked among the countries with the highest growth in tourism activity in Europe during this period, outperforming several regional peers. In North Macedonia, total growth stood at just 0.1%, while Montenegro recorded a decline of 2.4%.

At the European Union level, a total of 471.1 million overnight stays in tourist accommodation were recorded in the first quarter of 2026, representing an increase of 3.4% compared with the same period in 2025.

Eurostat estimates that tourism growth in the EU was primarily driven by international visitors, whose overnight stays increased by 5.5%, while domestic tourism recorded a more modest rise of 1.7%.

According to the report, Ireland registered the highest growth in Europe at 35.3%, followed by Malta with 11.1%, Denmark with 9.3%, and Croatia with 9%.

Italy, Spain, and Germany remained the destinations with the highest volume of tourist overnight stays in the European Union during the first three months of the year. /j.p/sm/