Although there is little investment, Kosovo continues to be attractive country for tourists

Kosovo has an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers, and it owns about a thousand countries, considered attractive to visit and develop tourism.

Although increased visits have been noted, Kosovo still remains the last country in the region in terms of tourism sector investments, where according to professionals in the field, less than 100,000 euros are invested within the year for the sector, while countries in the region, according to them, spend millions of euros on tourism.

Dren Zatriqi, a tourism expert, tells Radio Free Europe that the largest number of tourists to visit Kosovo are from Central Europe or German-speaking people, as well as from Asian groups that are part of Balkan groups, where Kosovo is joining this group.

We expect this year to boost tourists. Mostly tourists come from Central Europe, Asia, but also from Balkan countries. Kosovo has become attractive, especially for this group of tourists. For tourism, we are a country with the lowest budget in the region -- about 100,000 euros -- invested by the state annually in tourism, while other countries have millions of euros in investments. We, definitely, need to improve services and attractions in contrast with countries in the region”, Zatriqi estimates.

Tourists in Kosovo follow local tours. Each city already has them separated, depending on their language, to adapt and understand with tourists.

The Balkan “Majories project” in its composition has identified and developed the 192km mountain path, connecting mountainous villages from all three countries (Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro).

But there are also cultural visits, with guests across the ocean, such as Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, which are on the rise compared to the previous years. These mainly come through agencies from Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. Visits to Prizren are mostly made by Turks from Turkey.

So says Zeqe Ceku, leader of the Tourism Association in Kosovo, in which urban countries, as well as nightlife, continue to remain attractive to foreign tourists visiting Kosovo.

But, innovation this year, according to Ceku, is that there will be guests from the United States that will visit Kosovo.

Otherwise, Kosovo, from the aspect of its potential and resources, although very small, has extraordinary capacity in natural resources, based on natural and cultural heritage, and that is highlighted by all guests who come to”.

I'm saying equally that trend is positive in increasing arrivals in Kosovo, and we at our agency this year expect very rich seasons compared to last year, especially with guests coming from the US. We also expect that we, the largest number of tourists, have our diaspora and we expect this year to have more of them and a slightly longer stay in Kosovo, so that their interest is also in tourism investments and hotel reception in Kosovo”, Ceku says.

Despite sufficient tourist resources, according to tourism field connoisseurs in Kosovo, this potential has failed to promote the fact that Kosovo institutions have not been organised against this sector.

Meanwhile, Kosovo Government officials have sometimes indicated that efforts are continuing for the tourism sector to be even more attractive to visitors. Several plans considered advancing for the development of tourism in Kosovo have also been drafted.