TIRANA, July  5 /ATA/- Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro, said that “Albania’s presentation at ITB Berlin, the largest tourism fair in the world, continues to resonate with tourists.”

Kumbaro has published on social media photos and details from the meeting held the day before at the Ministry of Tourism and Environment with representatives of members of the Association of German Tour Operators (DRV), chaired by President Norbert Fiebing.

Among them were some of the top executives of German tourist enterprises who were interested in building more successful collaborations in the future.

Kumbaro says that in 2022, over 188 thousand German visitors picked Albania for their holidays, a trend that continues even this year, making the German market one of the most important for Albanian tourism.

The minister announced that 83% of tourist capacities are already booked for 2023 in Albania.

The several-day visit of the highest representatives of the Association of German Tour Operators (DRV), and heads of Tourist Agencies was arranged by the National Tourism Agency, who came to Albania prompted by the high interest of German tourists to see first-hand the great tourist potential of our country.

Accompanied by the Director of the National Tourism Agency, Zana Çela, German tour operators visited the premises of the “Salih Ceka” Vocational High School in the city of Elbasan, where they were received by the Mayor of Elbasan, Gledian Llatja. He appreciated this important investment of the Albanian government in partnership with the Swiss and German governments. This school is attended by 600 students, among them, 200 in the Hospitality – Tourism branch as well as in the tailoring cabinets, installation of solar panels, thermal-hydraulics facilities.

Between the beautiful Albanian Riviera and cultural heritage, through the suggestions of the main destinations of the National Tourism Agency, the trip continued to UNESCO’s Gjirokastra with a walk in the Bazaar, in the beautiful cobblestone alleyways, stops at the Ethnographic Museum, the renowned writer’s house of Ismail Kadare, where friends from Germany were received by the Mayor Mr. Flamur Golemi. In the fortress of Argjiro, German tour operators enjoyed the rhythms and sounds of the National Folk Festival.

Then the visit to Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage property, left indelible impression on the German Tour – Operators, who described this archaeological site of Albania as an elite offer for German tourists.

At the end of the visit to Albania, the Association of German Tour Operators also held a meeting with some of the executives of the Association of Tour Operators and Albanian hoteliers, who presented the services in some of the hotels on the coast of Golem in Durrës and expressed their interest to cooperate with the Association of German Tour Operators in the promotion of touristic Albania and the hospitality of German tourists in Albania.

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