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Corriere della Sera: Prices rise up to 90%, is Albania making the same mistakes as Italy and Greece?

2024-09-16 20:37:16Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA LEONARD BERBERI
Passengers in the port of Durres

In the first eight months, over 8 million tourists. There were 3.5 million travelers in Tirana airport in June-August (+46%). Many Italians. But price increases on the beaches have also angered Prime Minister Edi Rama: "This is suicide"

Albania closes the summer season with another record number of foreign tourists, especially from the beaches in the south of our country. But the significant increase in the prices of services offered in some areas – up to 90% compared to a year ago – has had many consequences on the length of stay, overall expenses and the chosen holiday locations.

Many staff talk about the risk of making "the same post-Covid mistakes as Italy, Croatia and Greece", when prices rose far above the rate of inflation, discouraging thousands of tourists. This is the first balance of the well-known Italian media Corriere, combining official data, numbers of operators in the sector and those gathered in the field.

The boom in low-cost flights

The boom in low-cost flights – thanks to Wizz Air and Ryanair – has “stolen” passenger volumes from the ferries between Italy and Durrës. If, in the June-August period, port passengers were slightly lower than those of the previous year, 3.5 million passengers passed through the international airport of Tirana, 45.8% more than the quarter of 2023. "Of these, 1.35 million flew between Italy and Albania, an increase of 47% compared to a year ago", explains Piervittorio Farabbi, operational director and manager responsible for Albania, for Corriere. "From January 1 to September 10, we had 7.6 million passengers - Farabbi calculates - we have already exceeded the figures for the entire year 2023 and we expect to close the year with 10.5 million".

charges

But, more than one tourist said that during their vacations in the south, they spent amounts equal to those in Italy, with increases ranging from 5 to 90%, especially in Ksamil, Saranda, Vlorës Himare, Dhërmi, Velipoja, areas of " occupied" by the Italians in 2023. This has angered the Albanians themselves who found themselves forced to pay unprecedented amounts for a tent, a lunch or a hotel room. And this prompted Prime Minister Edi Rama to raise his voice in July: "In the south we are seeing an absurd increase. This is suicide, price increases will have consequences in the summer of 2025. And it is a shame that this is happening when we have entered the 'Champions League' of Mediterranean tourism".

comparison

Local observers are the ones doing the math, raising the alarm just south. In the south, the most affordable apartments, which last year were 25-30 euros, in the two-month period July-August increased to 40-45 euros, up to 100-120 euros. Not to mention the hotel rooms, which have reached 500 euros.

The consequences

The first consequence, although still with record numbers, was observed in July when - according to the Ministry of Tourism - 1.8 million foreign tourists entered Albania, 2.7% more than in July 2023, a figure smaller than the 25% increase of the first seven months of 2023. In August another 2.2 million came, bringing the first eight months to 8.5 million tourists, a decrease compared to the same month of 2023. This is also because the number of Kosovars has decreased, who this year, thanks to the agreements with the EU, have started to travel more in Europe, after visiting Albania for years. Therefore, it was up to the Italians to understand that, compared to 2023, vacations across the Adriatic have become more expensive in the South and have thus favored the rest of the country.

Where do tourists go?

"Tourists from Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia) this year preferred the beaches of Durrës and Golem", explains Farabbi. "We noticed a significant increase in visitors, who go on walking or cycling excursions in the north and in general many go to other areas, not only to the south". / Corriere della Sera

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