Surge in arrivals from Kosovo pushes Albanian tourist arrivals to pre-pandemic level

Surge in arrivals from Kosovo pushes Albanian tourist arrivals to pre-pandemic level
By bne IntelliNews July 25, 2021

The number of foreign arrivals in Albania reached 604,381 in June, 3.4 times the figure in June 2020, when pandemic restrictions were being lifted, and close to the June 2019 level of 630,334, statistics office Instat said. 

Of that total, the overwhelming majority, 575,740 people, came to Albania for personal reasons such as holidays or visits to relatives. 

While arrivals from many countries were down compared to June 2019, there was a sharp increase in the number of people arriving from Kosovo: 334,908 people compared with 213,550 in June 2019 and 109,517 in June 2020.

Albanian officials have been reporting large numbers of arrivals from neighbouring Kosovo ever since restrictions were lifted in late spring, as people from the landlocked country travelled to seaside resorts in Albania. 

Similarly, 68,522 people arrived from North Macedonia, another landlocked neighbouring country, in June 2021, close to the 67,767 in June 2019 and many times the 9,878 in June last year. A further 32,861 arrived from neighbouring Montenegro, slightly down on the 37,867 in June 2019. 

On the other hand, numbers from three other important source countries, Greece, Italy and the UK, were considerably down on 2019, despite having recovered from the slump in June 2020. 

Data

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