TIRANA, June 13 – The tourism sector is showing modest signs of recovery despite being placed as a top priority to compensate for the crisis-hit migrant remittances and the long-ailing construction sector.
Travel income grew by an annual 8 percent to €283 million in the first quarter of 2016, continuing their rising trend for the fifth consecutive quarter, but failing to meet expectations from one of the country’s most promising industries.
Travel income slightly rose to a historic high of €1.35 billion in 2015 when Albania was visited by 4.1 million foreign tourists, according to Bank of Albania and INSTAT data.
With tourism on top of the agenda as one of the emerging drivers of economic growth, Albania has been actively promoting its coastal, mountain and cultural heritage tourism in a bid to become a year-round destination.
Efforts to attract foreign investment in the tourism sector by offering potential investors state property in priority areas for a symbolic 1 Euro for up to 99 years in return for investment of more than €50 million have up to now failed.
London-based World Travel & Tourism Council says the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the Albanian economy was 87.6 billion lek (€625 mln) or 6 percent of the GDP. The sector directly supported 51,000 jobs in 2015.
