Hotels welcomed more visitors in January, dominated by Italy, Kosovo and Germany

2026-03-17 17:27:30, Aktualitet CNA

Tourist structures in the country welcomed more visitors in January 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Official data published by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) on accommodation structures show that in January 2026, the number of visitors accommodated in tourist structures in Albania increased by 15.1%, compared to the same month last year.

The largest increase was seen in resident visitors. Specifically, the latter increased by 16.8%, while non-resident visitors increased by 13.8%.

As for overnight stays, they increased by a total of 9.0%, with overnight stays of resident visitors increasing by 16.4% while those of non-residents increased by 4.3%.

The geographical trend of where foreign visitors come from shows more or less the same picture as that of the movement of citizens but also the data usually reported by tour operators. Italy continues to remain dominant, leaving visitors from Kosovo in second place. Germany has also gained weight, as is the trend from Britain or France.

According to INSTAT, 25% of visitors accommodated in the structures came from Italy, 14% from Kosovo, 6% from Germany, and visitors from the United Kingdom and France account for 5% and 4% respectively. From other countries, 46% come.

The hotel room occupancy rate reached 15.4%, up from 14.5% in January 2025.

Although the year 2026 has started with a slow pace for tourism, especially as a result of the weather that has not been stable at all in the first two months of the year, it is expected to have a positive balance. Tour operators believe that growth will be at the same levels as a year ago, but they emphasize that a series of uncertainties related to the sector may have their impacts on its viability./Monitor.al