Albania is officially in a tourism slump. Official data from the Institute of Statistics shows that in July, the month that constitutes the peak of the tourist season, the number of foreign tourists visiting Albania increased by only 0.4 percent. While including Albanians, the total number of visitors increased by 1.5 percent last month compared to a year earlier.
Official data shows that Albania is facing a very tepid tourist season, miles away from the government's imaginary predictions of 20 million tourists.
According to INSTAT, for the period January-July of this year, Albania was visited by 6.58 million foreign tourists. Compared to the same period a year ago, this figure is only 3.5 percent higher, marking one of the lowest historical increases, except for the year of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, including the arrivals of Albanian citizens, Albania was visited by a total of 11.2 million travelers in the first 7 months, or 5.1 percent more than a year ago.
Disappointing tourism figures
The Albanian government has invested aggressively in marketing Albania as a Maldives in the middle of Europe. Almost every day, international media outlets feature articles about Albania's miracle and tourism boom, almost all of them sponsored. But the paid advertising does not seem to be having the effect hoped for by the Albanian government, as Albania is officially in a tourism slump this year.
Meanwhile, the only indicator of significant growth in tourism this year is Albanians' trips abroad. According to INSTAT, Albanians' trips abroad increased by 9 percent this year, as it seems that Albanians are increasingly preferring to vacation outside Albania's borders.
Editorial
