According to the latest data by INSTAT (Institute of Statistics), the number of hotel guests in the country in the first quarter of 2021 has increased by 6.3% compared to the same during last year, with the number of resident guests increasing by 10.1% and the number of non-residents by 1.8%.
However, compared to the same quarter last year, the number of night stays has decreased by 7.0%, especially for resident guests, which dropped by a significant 16.4%. Also, it seems that the guests this year have preferred the northern mountains over the southern Riviera, with the number of night stays increasing by 22.1% in the North and 2.0% in the South.
As the hospitality sector struggles to get back on its feet for the second year in a row, this will hopefully change as the summer holidays draw nearer. Last year tourism was ‘saved’ mostly by Albanians from Kosovo visiting the country in large numbers. For this summer the Albanian government has promised that it will be completely different tourism compared with last year. The covid-19 numbers in Albania have reached the lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic and the country has started to welcome the first tourists for this year, mostly from Eastern Europe.
