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Albania bought the place of honor in Berlin expensively, Kumbaro paid 6 million euros for the Tourism Fair

Albania bought the place of honor in Berlin expensively, Kumbaro paid 6 million

In March of this year, Edi Rama, his Minister of Tourism and a large delegation of Albanian government officials flew to Berlin. The reason was to participate in the International Tourism Fair, where Albania had been assigned a place of honor.

"11 million visitors who have passed through the airport, passing through Belgrade. For several years now, we have remained in the top three in the World Tourism Organization's Chart, along with Qatar and Saudi Arabia as the fastest growing destination. We did not have the World Cup or Mecca, but if we were to exclude them, we can say that we are the first, as Germany was before with the World Cup," declared Prime Minister Edi Rama from Germany.

"ITB Berlin 2025" starts from Albania! May it go well for us and be a good omen for tourism in 2025," the Minister of Tourism welcomed him from the Albanian stand at the Berlin fair.

The Albanian stand at “ITB Berlin 2025” stood out for its gigantic space and the spectacle of cultural performances, music, traditional cuisine and digital experiences. Under the slogan “Albania All Senses”, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment presented the country's tourist offer with great pomp.

But what was sold as a great appreciation for Albania's success at the Tourism Fair was not free. Data tracked by Kapitali shows that so far the Ministry of Tourism has paid over 560 million lekë or almost 5.8 million euros for Albania's participation in the Berlin Fair.

From the rent for the stand, to the furnishings of the halls, the gala dinners, but also the tickets and hotels for the government banquet in Berlin, the payments from the Treasury for the Tourism Fair are still ongoing. While the omen that Kumbaro hoped for from the Berlin stand did not turn out to be so enthusiastic.

This year Albania is facing a lukewarm tourist season, especially on the coast, where the lack of infrastructure, the quality of services and sky-high prices seem to have driven tourists away from Albanian beaches. But in the meantime, 6 million euros flew to Berlin. And the bill keeps growing.

Editorial