Tourism through statistics/ Lack of field control and unregistered businesses

2026-05-29 09:56:00, Aktualitet CNA

The tourism sector is promoted as the main engine of the economy, while official INSTAT data on accommodation structures reveal a much more fragile reality and deep management problems.

In the metadata published for 2026, the Institute of Statistics openly admits that the difficulty of this process remains monitoring businesses on the ground, implying that a significant portion of accommodation structures operate outside the official radar.

INSTAT's methodological document confirms that a significant number of enterprises result in non-existent or closed when survey teams go to the addresses declared in the statistical register.

The problem is acute among small businesses that seem to operate in an uncontrolled market, where the official address does not match the physical reality.

"During the data collection process, a considerable number of enterprises result: they carry out activities other than accommodation (off-site units); they are closed; it is impossible to find the unit in the field, according to the address in the Statistical Business Register. It turns out that this problem is present in small enterprises," the report states.

Tourism through statistics/ Lack of field control and unregistered businesses

In these cases, the lack of information forces the institution to use mathematical imputation methods to fill the gaps, creating a statistical picture that is often based on estimates and not on the concrete reality of cities and coastal areas.

"Missing data at the enterprise level are imputed using appropriate mathematical methods with data from previous periods. Sometimes inconsistent data at the enterprise or indicator level are identified, which need to be deleted. The next step is imputation at the enterprise or indicator level as appropriate, using data from previous periods. In some cases, mathematical techniques are also used," says INSTAT.

Tourism through statistics/ Lack of field control and unregistered businesses

Another critical point is the non-response rate, estimated at around 9.9% per month. This high rate of non-cooperation from accommodation facilities calls into question the reliability of key indicators on visitor flow and bed occupancy.

When businesses do not report, INSTAT is forced to rely on data from previous periods, a practice that risks masking true seasonality and distorting the real performance of tourism in Albania.

Although INSTAT claims to implement European Union standards, the fact that a good part of accommodation structures result without contact on the ground shows that control and verification mechanisms remain insufficient.

This information vacuum creates space for high informality, making it difficult not only to accurately calculate the sector's revenues, but also to properly plan for infrastructure and investments.

In the face of expanding tourism, official statistics risk remaining just an external decoration, which ignores the reality of a market that for a good part of it continues to operate in the shadow of informality./ CNA