The Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro , spoke yesterday at the "Diplo2025" conference, where Albanian ambassadors from around the world were present.
During her speech, she described Albanian tourism as a success (although reality speaks differently), and called foreign visitors "bio ambassadors."
But apparently the minister is so tired of creating metaphors that she said: Spain was a country that until 5 years ago had tourists, I don't know if they were 100 or not. The year 2024 counted 110,000 visitors to Spain.
Apparently, the minister was referring to visitors from Spain who visited Albania, not tourists within Spain (at least we hope so).
Meanwhile, Spain closed 2024 with 93.8 million international tourists and spending of 126 billion euros, a difference that gives a comical tone to the minister's statement.
Kumbaro's statement is making the rounds on social media, where citizens are not sparing their irony and ridicule.
While Mirela Kumbaro and Prime Minister Edi Rama continue to boast about tourism, tour operators fear that the not-so-good ratings that Albania has been receiving recently from tourists brought by foreign agencies could take us a step backward.
Foreign tourists have left dissatisfied, complaining about the country's poor infrastructure and inadequate services.