Tourism sector that is keeping the economy? But how much does an average foreigner spend in our country?

Tourism has become the leader of the country's economy. A sector that last year exceeded expectations, signaling that this year will also be an increase in numbers, but also in problems and challenges to be faced.

While in 2022, the number of foreign tourists reached 7.5 million, last year we had 10.1 million tourists. The objective announced by the government for this year is 14 million foreign tourists. And it seems that 2024 has started well, with the number of tourists estimated at 1.7 million in the first quarter.

But what typology do the tourists who come to Albania belong to? In other words, how much do they spend on average?

According to official data, the average expenses are 52 euros per person per day, where 30 euros goes to accommodation; 15 euros for food and drinks and 7 euros for transport. The average stay of foreign tourists in Albania is estimated at 4.3 days. From these figures, it is clear that we are not dealing with elite tourism.

How much has the Albanian economy benefited from the tourism boom?

Income from tourists has been increasing in recent years, peaking in 2023 with 4.1 billion euros. But the expenses of Albanians who go abroad for vacations are also increasing. the latter spent 2.3 billion euros last year. Consequently, the balance of tourism with 10 million visitors results in a net profit of only 1.8 billion euros.

As in recent years, we are talking almost only about tourism, how important is this sector for the economy?

The data show that the contribution to the gross domestic production is 8.8%; directly and indirectly employed are over 384 thousand people or 7.7% of the total employed. Meanwhile, 7.5% of the total investments in the country are engaged in tourism.

But despite the optimistic figures and the desire of tourists to discover Albania, there are many problems, some inherited over the years and still unresolved.

Among the most important, we mention the lack of qualified staff; the lack of coordination between the state and the private sector for the development of tourism; that of market control and standardization; Seasonality of the sector; Diversification of the tourist product and problems with public transport.