TIRANA, Dec. 17 – Greece and Italy are the top travel destinations for around half of Albanians spending their holidays abroad, says INSTAT, Albania’s state-run statistical institute.
The destinations are not surprising considering that around 1 million Albanians, half a million in each country, live and work in Greece and Italy, in constantly growing numbers since the early 1990s exodus following the collapse of Albania’s decades-long hardline communist regime.
Visits to the two neighbouring countries are common throughout the year, with Greece mainly accessed by road, and Italy, the neighbouring country across the Adriatic by air and sea.
Most visits are carried out to meet friends and relatives, but summer turns the two neighboring countries into key destinations for those wanting to try new experiences from the country’s Adriatic and Ionian coastlines and get to know to ancient civilizations that also left their mark on Albania.
Greece was the top destination for 28 percent of Albanians who spent there an average of 5.7 nights in 2017, says INSTAT.
Neighboring Greece, a destination that can be reached easily through several border crossing points south and southeast of the country, and where holidays are much cheaper compared to other leading European destinations, was visited by 829,000 Albanians in 2017, who spent there €190 million at an average of €220 per trip, according to INSETE, the Greek Tourism Confederation’s intelligence body.
In addition to air routes from the Tirana International Airport, Greece can also be accessed through Albania’s southern Saranda Port offering regular ferry links to the island of Corfu.
Italy was the top destination for 20 percent of Albanian holidaymakers in 2017 with an average stay of 9.6 days and average spending of €46 a day, in figures that mostly reflect common stays with friends and family members residing in Italy, the host of around 500,000 Albanians.
While no exact figures are available on trips to Italy, the Durres and Vlora ports offering regular links to the Italian ports handled around 1 million passengers last year, while the Tirana International Airport, where more than half of passengers travel to and from Italy, handled around 2.6 million passengers in 2017.
Cheaper neighboring countries where ethnic Albanians dominate such as Kosovo or neighbours who have key minorities such as Macedonia and Montenegro are top destinations for another 35 percent of Albanians.
Germany surprisingly ranked a top travel destination for 3 percent of Albanians with average stays of around 11 days, reflecting rising interest by Albanian residents to live and work in Europe’s leading economy.
Turkey is also turning into a top travel destination for Albanians, lured by affordable all-inclusive packages in Turkey’s tourist resorts that also include charter flights.
Data published by Turkey’s tourism ministry shows more than 107,000 Albanians visited Turkey during the first ten months of this year, a 20 percent hike compared to the same period last year.
Turkey’s rising popularity is also related to cultural affinity due to Albania having been under Ottoman occupation for around five centuries until the early 20th century and a series of popular Turkish soap operas aired on Albanian TV.
Albanians spend a sizable more than €1 billion in trips abroad each year, considerably waning the contribution of the key travel and tourism sector to the country’s economy.
Last year, Albania’s travel and tourism industry generated €1.7 billion from 5 million foreign tourists dominated by an ethnic Albanian segment often referred to as ‘patriotic tourism.’
