Prime Minister Edi Rama published the statistics, pointing out that touristy Albania is growing rapidly, along with unquestionable needs, natural expectations, understandable claims, inevitable criticism or even attacks made by various sources of misinformation or disinformation.

“Among all expectations, the most undisputed is further revision of the beach management formula, dominated by the need not only for more public spaces, but also for a much more responsible use of spaces managed by private entities,” he said.

Further increase in the number of visitors, Rama stressed, goes hand in hand with the weight of the cleanliness challenge, where further improvements have been made, but more needs to be done and will be done, drawing new lessons and taking new measures.

“There have been prices in counterproductive excess in certain areas, namely Vlorë and Sarandë, which compared to last year, recorded the highest increase in the number of restaurant/bar units with about 40% more new units, while their growth on a national scale is 37%”, added Rama.

But, he continued, while turnover in the rest of the country has increased by nearly 40%, in these areas it has increased by less than 20%, precisely as a result of the increase in price excesses, which were partially corrected, starting from the second half of July – a lesson not to be forgotten by operators in the free market, who from next season will be compelled to display prices at the entrance of every bar.

According to Rama, the infrastructure developed since last year, whether road or energy and water supply, as well as the measures taken to protect the bathing waters have made an indisputable contribution to ensuring high quality during this season, yet the large volume of work that remains to be done in these directions for “Tourist Albania 2030” is equally indisputable.

Furthermore, the prime minister pointed out that the high increase in the number of visitors to the mountainous areas and the lakes and rivers of the country, from north to south, thanks to the new attractive image of Albania, but also to the refurbished infrastructure and the increase in the number of service units, as well as in non-coastal cities led by Tirana, is the best news of this season.

“Misinformation and disinformation have had their growth in every direction, thanks to the staggering speed of lying in the present day’s world of channels, portals and social media, but just as the sun cannot be covered up with a sieve, neither can the truth of this country that becomes better, more attractive, safer on the road to the top of the “ALBANIA2030” can be belittled by anyone., he said.

The data also show the countries with the highest number of visitors, such as Kosovo, North Macedonia, Italy, Spain, England, France, etc.

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The latest INSTAT report shows that the number of foreign nationals who entered the Albanian territory during the month of July increased by 26.2%, reaching 1,770,724, the majority of whom are Europeans.

Referring to INSTAT, the number of foreign citizens who visited our country from Europe during July is reckoned at 1,694,657.
45,821 citizens came from America, while 14,805 citizens from the Middle East.

Only during this summer tourist season, from May to the end of July, 3,482,836 foreign citizens visited our country.

The authorities in the country have stated that the number of vacationers who have chosen Albania this year as a destination has exceeded expectations, while a report released by the World Tourism Organization ranked our country first in Europe for the first 3 months of this year for the increase in the number of tourists. While in the world, our country ranks third after Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Not only the coast, but also Tirana and the Alps are favorite destinations.
In total, over 5.2 million foreigners visited Albania from January to the end of July.
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TIRANA, June  26 /ATA/ The number of foreign citizens who visited Albania during the first 5 months of this year is 2,389,899.

According to the report published on Tuesday by INSTAT, this number has increased by 42.5%, compared to the same period of 2022.

Of these, over 2.2 million citizens traveled for vacation or visiting relatives, while 50,861 citizens traveled for business and professional purposes.

According to INSTAT, during the five months of 2023, the region with the highest number of foreign nationals entering Albania is the European region with 2,300,558 citizens, followed by America and East Asia and the Pacific, respectively with 55,333 and 15,060 citizens.

Meanwhile, the number of Albanian citizens who left the territory of Albania during the five months of 2023 is 2,447,719, increasing by 21.1%, compared to the same period a year ago.

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