Albania had some 300 hotels with a capacity of 15,901 beds in 2012, down from 324 hotels with a capacity of 18,905 beds in 2011 and 322 hotels with 11,793 beds in 2010, according to INSTAT
TIRANA, Dec. 10 – The number of Albania’s tourism accommodation establishments has seen a decline in the past three years, affected by escalating crisis impacts which have not spared even the tourism sector. The number of customers and nights spent in hotels has also declined in the past few years, according to a report by the state Institute of Statistics (INSTAT).
Albania had some 300 hotels with a capacity of 15,901 beds in 2012, down from 324 hotels with a capacity of 18,905 beds in 2011 and 322 hotels with 11,793 beds in 2010.
The 300 hotels in Albania accommodated around 250,000 customers in 2012, of whom around 150,000 or 60 percent were foreigners.
Average nights spent by customers in 2012, dropped to 2.4, down from 2.5 in 2011 and 2.4 in 2010, according to INSTAT.
Since the beginning of the Albanian Quality Mark Awards in 2011, dozens of hotels have become paying members of the Albanian Tourism Association (ATA), requested an assessment of their businesses, and been awarded the Quality Mark. The US government funded program helps entrepreneurs set quality hotel standards that, in turn, furthers build the credibility of Albania’s tourism businesses. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Authentic Albania awards are determined based on the Authentic Albania quality mark framework which evaluates facilities using seven key dimensions that together address the travelers’ requirements for professionalism, safety, cleanliness, and comfort, as well as demonstrate responsible tourism practices.
During the past few years, the Albanian Tourism Association (ATA) has repeatedly demanded a cut in the value added tax (VAT) from 20 percent to 8 percent and a decrease in accommodation taxes paid to local government units from 5 to 1 percent. According to Albanian tourism operators, high taxes are being reflected on additional costs and more Albanians choosing to spend their holidays abroad because of competitive and often lower prices. Tourism operators are also worried about the presence of urban waste in coastal areas, as well as relatively high prices of bank transactions, electricity and oil. “We are not competitive with regional countries considering that the current VAT rate is 20 percent at a time when 20 out of 27 regional countries have a VAT rate lower than 10 percent,” ATA representatives said earlier.
Albania lost six places in the 2013 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, ranking worse to its regional competitors mainly due to poor business environment and infrastructure. The report published by the World Economic Forum surveying 140 global economies ranked Albania 77th, compared to 71st a couple of years ago, with a total score of 3.97 on a 1-to-7 scale, sandwiched between Ukraine and Armenia, leaving behind only landlocked Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova among European countries.
