Albania experienced the best tourism performance in its history in 2023.
Preliminary data shows that over 10 million foreign citizens entered the country. Albania has become a preferred tourist destination for many foreigners, with international media describing it as a beautiful country with affordable prices.
Eurostat data on overnight stays reveals that, in terms of growth indicators, Albania has outperformed all other European countries. For instance, according to Eurostat tables, in the third quarter, overnight stays in tourist accommodation units increased by 60.6% compared to the same period in 2022.
Even compared to 2019, before the pandemic temporarily halted tourism momentum, overnight stays increased by nearly 78%.
This growth is significantly higher than the European average, which, in the third quarter, saw an increase of 0.7% in overnight stays compared to the third quarter of 2022 and 0.8% compared to the same period in 2019. The second-highest growth in Europe after Albania is Serbia, with 25.4%. Data for Turkey and Kosovo is not available.
According to Eurostat, the upward trend in overnight stays in Albania has been evident throughout the year.
For the available 10-month data, the total increase in overnight stays in accommodation structures in Albania was 55.6% compared to the same period in 2022.
Malta comes second with a growth rate of 21%, followed by Cyprus with 20.7%, and Montenegro with 19.4%.
Altogether, Albania recorded 5.57 million domestic and foreign overnight stays in the first 10 months of 2023, compared to 3.58 million in the same period in 2022.
The country also holds the record for the growth of foreign tourists’ overnight stays, with 3.65 million overnight stays for January-October, where foreign tourists make up 65% of the total overnight stays in the country.
The growth in foreign overnight stays, almost 55%, is the highest in Europe. Slovakia comes second with 32.2%, followed by the Czech Republic with 31.5%, and Romania with 27.5%.
Europe
According to Eurostat, in 2023, European Union tourism continued to show signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The estimated number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation structures in 2023 reached 2.92 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic level for 2019 (2.87 billion) by 1.6% and setting a record year for the EU accommodation sector.
In 2023, 171 million more overnight stays were spent compared to 2022 (+6.3%), mainly driven by an increase in overnight stays by international tourists (+146 million) and, to a lesser extent, by an increase in overnight stays by domestic tourists (+25 million). Tourism levels (in terms of overnight stays) were 25% higher than ten years ago (2013: 2.33 billion overnight stays).
Compared to 2022, almost all EU member states recorded growth in 2023, with only Luxembourg experiencing a slight decline (-0.1%). Malta and Cyprus saw growth exceeding 20%, and in eight other EU members, it exceeded 10% (Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Austria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, and Greece). In absolute figures, the largest growth in overnight stays was observed in Germany (+32.8 million overnight stays) and Spain (+32.3 million overnight stays).
International and domestic tourism
After 3 years with a significantly lower percentage of international tourists (29%, 32%, and 44% of all overnight stays in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively), foreigners accounted for 46% of 2.87 billion overnight stays in 2023. This indicates a return to the pre-pandemic contribution of international tourists (47%). However, in terms of volume, international tourism was 0.4% less than in 2019.
Regarding accommodation, hotels and similar structures dominated with 1.8 billion overnight stays (63% of the total), followed by holiday accommodations and other short-term accommodations (24%). Campsites accounted for 13% of the total.
