Rama: Tourists Saved Kosovar Tourists

I was with a tour operator yesterday and outside the cameras confirmed to me what I actually know, that last season was not a waste. While the pandemic was really scary for the sector, but the movement we did by not closing the border with Kosovo and the fact that Albanians in Albania could not leave, caused hotels to be full of”, Rama said.

He added that he does not believe that “when you received the money, they did not seem less than they were giving to the Kosovo Albanians and Albania, that it is not that low prices”.

This season has been a significant test of how much money is spent by Albania's Albanians for tourism and generally goes abroad. The other that has greatly helped the sector, which is indirect, has been that many of Albanians who were otherwise taught to flee to Budva, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey recognised Albania. This is concrete. A large part of them knew Tirana '%Durra, the maximum as far as Vlora, and that's where their” work ended, Rama said.

However, in 2020, tourism in Albania as the economy sector is by far the most hit by pandemic. The dependence on the Albanian economy from tourism is precisely why the impact on the overall economy has been the biggest in Albania in other countries in the region, which many international institutions have highlighted since the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BERZH), IMF to “Standard and Poor” recently.

The number of citizens from Kosovo who have visited Albania for 2020 is 1,379,360. Although with a drop of 38.6% compared to the same period in 2019, Kosovo has the lowest decline in the entry of its citizens to Albania for 2020, which accounts for the lowest compared to other countries in the region and Europe. While in the autumn and early months, the number of citizens from Kosovo who have visited Albania has recognised growth compared to the summer months.

Citizens from Kosovo have made pandemic challenges when it comes to traveling to Albania. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of citizens from Kosovo who visited Albania was 519,435 people, out of 407.760 people who had visited it in the fourth quarter of 2019, marking an increase of 27.4%. While generally in Albania, the number of visitors in the fourth quarter of 2020 has dropped by 41.2 % compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. The total net stays have decreased by 58.4 % compared to the fourth quarter 2019. The number of stays for the fourth quarter of 2020 follows the same trend as the number of visitors. Vlora holds first place with 31.1% in terms of reservations conducted through travel agencies, or tour operators. The coastal town of Vlora in southern Albania holds first place with 38.8%, even in terms of reservations on accommodation forms, followed by Korca with 20.1%.