Central bank data show travel revenues during the July-September period, the peak of tourist season, increased to 534 million euros, up from 508 million euros in the third quarter of 2009
TIRANA, Dec. 14 – Tourism revenues during the third quarter of 2010 grew by only a slight 26 million euros year-on-year and dropped by 59 million euros compared to the first nine months of 2009, figures proving Albania’s most promising future industry did not manage to escape the crisis effects despite a significant rise in visitors reported by government officials.
Central bank data show travel revenues during the July-September period, the peak of tourist season, increased to 534 million euros, up from 508 million euros in the third quarter of 2009. However, total revenues for the first nine months of this year dropped to 960 million euros, down from 1.019 billion euros during the same period last year. Statistics prove visitors to Albania, the majority of whom are Albanian immigrants living in Greece and Italy and tourists from neighbouring Kosovo and Macedonia spent significantly smaller amounts during their stay in Albania despite their number growing.
The situation was mainly a result of the poor performance registered in the first half of this year when revenues dropped by 85 million euros year-on-year.
Albanians also sharply cut their expenditure in tourist trips abroad by 115 million euros during the first 9 months of this year, careful about their household economies which have been affected by lower immigrant remittances, fewer jobs, and a saving trend as the economy continues to gradually recover from the shrink in the last quarter of 2009.
The significantly lower expenditure in trips abroad also improved the balance of travel indicator which increased to 178 million euros at the end of September 2010, up from 124 million euros in September 2009.
Government statistics on foreign visitors, excluding Albanian immigrants who hold Albanian citizenship and are residents in different host countries, show some 549,105 tourists or 26,908 people more, visited Albania during the first half of this year. The Tourism Ministry says the figure for the first six months of this year marked a 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2009 and 77 percent compared to 2006.
The biggest number of tourists during the first half of 2010 came from neighbouring countries, with Macedonia topping the list with 21 percent, followed by Kosovo with 19 percent, Montenegro 12 percent, Italy 8 percent, Greece 8 percent, Serbia 4 percent, UK and Germany 3 percent each.
Previous Tourism Ministry data also including Albanian immigrants showed 2.5 million people visited Albania during the January-August period this year, of whom 1.7 million were foreigners and 855,000 Albanian non-residents. Last summer’s data show a record 1.3 million people visited Albania during the July 1 to August 15 period, 32 percent more than the same period in 2009. The reopening of the Kalimash tunnel linking Albania and Kosovo in the shortest possible way last summer played a significant role.
“This will be the first year in Albania’s history that the number of visitors exceeds the number of population (3.5 million people),” said Berisha last summer, attributing the positive results to infrastructural investments which exceed 1 billion euros.
Few days ago, Lonely Planet which placed Albania as the top choice in its list of the 10 vacation spots to visit in 2011.
Tourism will remain a top priority even in the 2011 budget along with continued increase of wages and pensions and infrastructure development. However, under the 2011 budget, government plans to spend 230 million lek on tourism development, some 67 million lek less compared to the 2010 revised budget, according to Finance Ministry data.
International tourism experts have stressed the need to provide accommodation, leisure and hygiene standards and adopt tough legal measures to prevent construction chaos if Albania wants to build a sustainable tourism industry.
“Tourism in Albania is at a critical juncture,” said USAID’s Mission Director Joseph C. Williams in remarks at a recent USAID-sponsored workshop on sustainable tourism. “Choices being made today are important to both capitalize on and protect Albania’s rich natural, cultural, and historical resources. The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and Authentic Albania Quality Mark program are good ways to ensure that tourism in Albania is sustainable and based on international trends and best practices.”
USAID assisting to rate hotels
In the coming months, USAID and the Albanian Tourism Association will launch Albania’s first quality rating system for tourism accommodation businesses. Hotels and accommodations will be evaluated based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and then be awarded a gold, silver, or bronze classification that will be published on travel sites and in brochures and publications for foreign tourists.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) are a set of 37 voluntary standards representing the minimum that any tourism business should aspire to reach, in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation. Unlike other countries in the region, Albania lacks a rating system that many travelers rely on to plan accommodations and travel itineraries, says USAID.
“The Authentic Albania Quality Mark will become an important marketing tool for new and expanding businesses in the tourism sector as a mark of quality and customer service,” said Matilda Naco, Executive Director of the Albanian Tourism Association. “And while it directly benefits businesses, it will also serve as a guide for visitors to have the best possible experience in Albania.”
Latest tourism ministry data published on the 2007-2013 tourism strategy show Albania had 627 hotels with a capacity of 22,743 beds and 908 other tourist accommodation units with another 33,943 beds back in 2007.
Albanian tourism has grown at a significant pace over the last few years, contributing over US$ 2.4 billion in 2009 to the Albanian economy, with expectations to grow by 4% in 2011 — based on statistics from the World Travel and Tourism Council. Over 200,000 Albanians are involved in tourism businesses and this number is expected to grow in 2010-11, despite the effects of the global crisis on the travel and tourism industry.
