The number of tourists coming from Ukraine has increased eightfold since 2016. Over 110,000 came to Albania last year, the highest figure ever recorded.
Russians are also picking Albania as their destination for tourism. In the last 6 years, more than 132,000 Russian tourists visited the country.
But how much will the heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine impact tourism, now that the summer season is just around the corner.
An entrepreneur from the tourism sector, Tatjana Bajraktari said that reservations have been on the rise.
“None of the reservations have been canceled. It is the opposite, we’ve seen a rise from both Ukraine and Russia”, Bajraktari said.
Tatjana, originally from Ukraine, now lives in Albania. According to her, there’s a stark difference with the situation back in 2014, when Ukraine was in a war with Russia after the latter annexed Crimea.
“In 2014, there were massive cancellations, there was a time when there were no reservations at all”, she said.
Tour operators expect more tourists this year, which will also help the country recover from the blow dealt by the pandemic.
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