By Zoë Daniëls and Sanne Grefelman
Summer is just around the corner and everyone is busy choosing the perfect holiday destination. While Italy, France, and Spain are still popular choices, Albania has recently moved up the list of top destinations in Europe. What was once a well-kept secret among tourists from surrounding countries like Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia is now attracting more and more visitors worldwide.
Discovering Albania
Albania, a country in southeast Europe, counts 2.785.660 citizens. This Balkan nation, with the capital city of Tirana, is bordered by the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Albania is one of the hidden gems in the Balkan area. With its high mountains and beautiful beaches it attracts millions of tourists per year. One of the unique things about Albania is that they have more than thousands of concrete bunkers scattered across the country. These bunkers were constructed during the communist era as a defense measure to protect the country from potential invasions.
The country is known for being relatively poor compared to the other countries in Europe. According to an article by TalentUp, the average gross monthly minimum income in Albania is around 75 to 93 thousand Lek. That is in euros approximately €750 to €900 per month.
Economic evolution
Albania has been isolated for a long time. Before 1991, the entire economy was controlled by the five-year plan drawn up by the then-ruling Communist Party. The state controlled all means of production, agriculture was collectivized, industry was nationalized, and private businesses were banned. A constitutional article banned the government from foreign aid, loans, and investments, contributing to Albania’s isolation. It was also more difficult for people to enter and leave the country during this period. This ensured that there were few to no tourists in Albania.
After 1991, the economy was decentralized again. This means that authority was divided again and Albania was no longer isolated. In the 1990s, Albania was helped by the United States, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. As a result, foreign investment increased and Albania had one of the fastest growing economies in Europe.
Yet it remained one of the poorest countries. Many Albanians therefore chose to move abroad for a better future. Since the fall of communism in 1991, more than 40% of people with Albanian nationality have emigrated to another country to search for a better future, according to UCL. The United Kingdom and France are the two countries where the largest part of the Albanian community currently lives.
Tourism boom
After the earthquake in 2019 and COVID-19, Albania has a huge increase in tourists coming to their country. Tourists from all over the world are coming to Albania for holidays. Joani Lepuri is with his brother, the owner of Central Boutique Hostel in one of the popular coastal cities, Saranda. He said he sees a huge difference in tourism after the coronavirus.
“We had a lot of tourists from all the world, but in the three years of COVID-19, most of the tourists were from the Balkan and or the nearby countries. For example, from Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia,” he said. Lepuri, also mentioned that there are more and more tourists coming from all over the world. For example, Australia, America, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.
In 2023, Albania was ranked 4th globally for the largest percentage increase in international tourist arrivals, recording a growth of 56% in 2019. In 2022, Albania welcomed 7.5 million international arrivals, and even 10.1 million in 2023. That caused an economic growth of 5% in 2022. International tourism in Albania constitutes 46% of the total exports and 65% of exports in the services sector, according to the UN Tourism News Release.
The main reason people give when asked why they chose Albania to go on holiday is the low prices. “We heard that it is really cheap and really beautiful. I have been hearing a lot about Albania lately on social media, and it is very upcoming,” said Lola King, from New Zealand. Besides the low prices, the beautiful images on social media are also attracting a lot of tourists.
Because of the low prices, it is easier for people with less money to go on a holiday. In Albania you can sleep in a two bedroom apartment for an average of less than €50 per night. Also for dinner, you can easily find a cheap restaurant with good quality traditional Albanian food. With these low prices and beautiful scenery, and good advertising on social media, it is becoming an attractive holiday destination in Europe.
UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Albania offers diverse investment opportunities in its tourism sector due to its strategic location, improving infrastructure, and supportive government policies. These factors have significantly contributed to the country’s growth and development.”
Kledis Ahmetaj is a tourist operator in one of the famous old cities of Albania called, Gjirokaster. He works as a tourist guide and driver at the same time. He usually deals in hikes, rafting, and other tours in Albania. Ahmetaj also said he noticed an increase in tourists coming to his country. “These last two years the amount of tourists has been increasing a lot. Last year was even better than before, and this year is even better than the last year”.
Ahmetaj expects that more and more tourists are coming to Albania. He said he thinks the reason why more tourists are coming to Albania is that they have done a great job in advertising on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. “With the great advertising, many tourists are finding out about the hidden gems here in Albania”.
In addition, Albania has a rich history and a lot of cultural heritages that offer a unique appeal. The country has a lot of UNESCO world heritages like, Butrint, the old city of a thousand windows called Berat, and the historic city in the mountains called Gjirokaster. These cites are popular must sees when visiting Albania. These places are already well visited by tourists and are well advertised on social media.
According to Zef Preci, Executive Director of the Albanian Center for Economic Research (ACER), the main reason for the increasing number of tourists visiting Albania, are the developments in the country itself. “Internally, there are some improvements on the country’s infrastructure. And at the same time, better promotion or intensive promotion of tourism by governments.”
The effects on the country
The large increase in the number of tourists is clearly noticeable. When you visit Albania, you will notice that almost everywhere they are working on building new hotels, hostels, or apartments. You especially notice this in the more touristic cities. In 2023, according to UN Tourism, Albania registered more than 154 startups in different sectors including financial services, tourism, technology, and innovation. The economy will continue to grow because there are progressively more job opportunities.
Ahmetaj; “A lot of houses here in Gjirokaster were just shut down and people were not living here anymore. Now that the tourism is back here in this country, a lot of them came back to Albania, and they have started to renovate and construct many of new things in here”.
Photo by: Zoë Daniëls/DMJX
In addition to more job opportunities, as more people visit Albania and experience all the beauty and gems of this country, the international image of the country improves. Restaurants, shops, and tour operators are seeing more customers, which means that there is more income and opportunities to invest in their businesses. This will boost the economy because local governments have more money to spend on infrastructure and local businesses.
Lepuri is noticing the increase in income in the hostel. “A few years ago, I had to pay the cleaners and the electricity bill with money from my own pocket. Now I notice that I rarely have to do that. I can pay for almost everything with the money I earned with the company.”
The increase in tourists coming to Albania seems to have a lot of positive effects on the country, but unfortunately it also brings some negative effects. For example, on the environment. “How to have a sustainable tourism development? How to have the same tourists coming in next year? How to develop all year tourism, not just seasonal and just for the summer? We have to keep these questions in mind,” said Preci.
What also needs to be carefully considered is the pressure it puts on the local population. In the future, it could be more difficult for locals to live in popular touristic places like Saranda, Ksamil, Durres, Tirana, and Gjirokaster. The prices at restaurants, bars, and local activities are rising and that could be a challenge for locals who don’t have a huge yearly income. Also, more and more hotels and resorts are being built. This is at the expense of the living space of the population.
“Not only Albania is suffering from the negative consequences of rising tourism. Every country has to deal with this. We need to start looking at how other countries are tackling these problems,” said Preci. He has been looking at the experiences of Croatia and some other countries that have much more tourism carrying capacity than Albania and long-term decades of experience.
The future of tourism in Albania
Preci does not believe that any country could be developed based only on tourism. “Tourism is a service of services”. It means you need to develop basic services. Preci also believes that the extensive involvement of tourist operators in developing and monitoring governmental policies could contribute to a more stable and sustainable development that extends beyond just tourism. “It is related to environmental policies, it is related to educational systems, it is related to strengthening of improvements in the infrastructure, etc. So it’s a long and historical process. It’s not a momentum.”
Ahmetaj and Lepuri have high hopes for the future of Albania. They are convinced that more and more tourist will come to visit Albania. In essence, Ahmetaj and Lepuri see a lot of opportunity and growth, because the country has a lot to offer. They are confident that Albania’s time has come, and that its appeal as a tourist destination will continue to rise in the coming years.
The tourism sector is growing, and bringing a lot of economic benefits. Albania can grow to a premier travel destination like other famous places like Italy, Spain, France or Greece. The negative effects can not be forgotten. They should be prevented as much as possible. With its natural beauty, rich history, and strategic promotion, Albania is ready to welcome the world.