TIRANA, May 11, 2024 – It’s the bright spot in Albania’s image: the country is currently seeing a boom in international tourist visits. But most foreign tourists are spending too little money and their input has not been enough to offset the large numbers of active-age adults leaving the country, according to official data and their analysis by economic experts.
Last year, approximately 10.2 million foreign visitors traveled to Albania, marking a 35 percent increase compared to the previous year, according to INSTAT.
According to the balance of payments data from the Bank of Albania, foreign tourists spent around 4.2 billion euros in Albania during 2023. Foreign tourist expenditures increased by 47 percent compared to 2022.
On average, tourist expenditures are estimated at around 412 euros per person.
Enri Jahja, a representative of the Association of Bars and Restaurants, told the Monitor business magazine that foreign tourists coming to Albania are from a group that spends less than average and focuses on establishments that offer the cheapest prices.
“Based on the spending data per person, estimated at around 420 euros, it appears that Albania attracts category C tourists, that is, ‘cheap’ tourists who spend less than an Albanian would when visiting the cheapest resorts in Turkey during the summer months,” Jahja says.
Despite the increasing spending by tourists (which increased by 47 percent compared to 2022), the total consumption in Albania 2023 increased by about 3 percent compared to the previous year.
The discrepancy comes from the fact that Albania is in the middle of a migration wave, especially among young people who make up the strongest portion of consumers in the country.
Several sectors of the business community have in the past couple of years raised alarm about the decline in consumption in basic items — from food to clothing — due to the lower number of people living in the country as well the massive inflation that caused many people to simply buy less because they can’t afford the higher prices.
The only place tourism shows a clear impact is in the increase of imports of beer and non alcoholic drinks as well as localized growth in municipalities that primarily cater to tourists, such as Saranda and Ksamil.
