One million people visit Albania in first six months

TIRANA, July 20 – The number of tourists visiting Albania during the first half of this year was 1 million people, increasing by 5.2 percent compared to the same period last year, the Tourism Ministry said this week. However, only half of them, some 550,000 people were foreigners. The remaining 450,000 visitors were Albanian immigrants, residents abroad.
The main foreign tourists to Albania during the January-June period were neighbours Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro with 21, 10 and 12 percent respectively.
Ministry officials said that more Macedonian and Kosovo tourists have chosen southern Albania beaches, Vlora and Saranda as their destination this year.
Officials expect the number of tourists and revenues to grow this year, especially from Kosovo after the re-opening the Kalimash tunnel linking the two countries in the shortest possible way.
Data by the National Tourism Agency show Albania was visited by 3 million people in 2009, registering a 34 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Of the 3 million tourists in 2009, only 1.78 million were foreigners. Most of them stayed in Albania for one or a few days. The remaining 1.2 million tourists were Albanian immigrants, residents in foreign countries.