TIRANA, Sept. 12 – Albania’s net income from the tourism industry is too small considering the huge amounts foreign tourists bring to the country each year and the large amounts Albanians spend on trips and holidays abroad.
The rising expenditure in trips abroad has also led to ‘patriotic’ appeals to Albanians on spending holidays at home.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Prime Minister Edi Rama called on Albanians to curb their holidays abroad and spend the money at home.
“Starting next year, do not book your holidays abroad, the new tourist season will bring a new era in Albania, tighter security, exemplary cleanliness and decent health services,” Rama said.
Albanians spend huge amounts in trips abroad, especially on holiday in destinations such as Greece, Turkey and Montenegro, curbing the huge amounts the country benefits in travel income and resulting in modest surplus from the tourism industry.
Central bank data shows Albania benefited €722 million in tourism income in the first half of this year, but Albanians increased their spending on trips abroad to €567 million during the same period this year, resulting in a surplus of €155 million for January-June 2017.
Last year, when the country’s tourism revenue hit a record €1.5 billion, the surplus in the tourism and travel industry was at €389 million, up from €237 million in 2015, and a mere €87 million in 2014.
State-run statistical institute, INSTAT, reports some 1.76 million foreigners, a considerable number of whom are believed to be Albanians holding dual citizenship, entered Albania in the first half of this year, a ten percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia accounted for almost half (43 percent) of tourists to Albania in the first half of this year, followed by neighboring Greece and Italy, the hosts of about 1 million Albanian migrants, with a total of about 17 percent of tourists.
Meanwhile, some 2.26 million Albanians travelled abroad in the first half of this year, up 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
Most Albanians travel to Italy and Greece to visit migrant relatives but also work there periodically. A considerable number of Albanians also visit destinations such as neighboring Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia but also Turkey, which is one of the favorites for summer holidays.
Albania’s emerging travel and tourism industry registered a strong recovery last year when a record 4.7 million foreign tourists were reported to have visited the country, bringing more than €1.5 billion in travel income, according to central bank and INSTAT data.
The industry which directly employs 85,000 people is emerging as a key driver of the Albanian economy already accounting for about 9 percent of the country’s GDP and with optimistic mid and long-term growth prospects as the country’s attracts more and more tourists.
Travel income 2017
Q1 = €301 mln
Q2 = €421 mln
Total H1 = €722 mln
Travel income 2016
Q1 = 283 mln
Q2 = €357 mln
Total H1 = €640 mln
Travel spending 2017
Q1 = €226 mln
Q2 = €341 mln
Total H1 = €567 mln
Travel spending 2016
Q1 = €216 mln
Q2 = €284 mln
Total H1 = €500 mln
Surplus H1 2017 = €155 mln
Surplus H1 2016 = €140 mln
Travel income
2016 = €1.528 bln
2015 = €1.352 bln
2014 = €1.195 bln
2013 = €1.113 bln
Travel spending
2016 = €1.139 bln
2015 = €1.117 bln
2014 = €1.195 bln
2013 = €1.113 bln
