Tourism, Kosovo "officially abandons us", arrivals fell by 19%, the Nordics are also withdrawing

2024-10-30 07:26:00, Ekonomi CNA

Tourism, Kosovo "officially abandons us", arrivals fell by 19%, the

Albania's tourism success has faded during the summer and early autumn seasons, at least if we refer to what is known as patriotic tourism. Official figures confirm that in August the growth of Kosovo Albanians was almost non-existent, while in September the arrivals decreased by 19.2 percent compared to September of the previous year.

The tour operators warned in June that the bookings of this group were low as the increase in prices in some regions which then became viral on the Internet and especially the devaluation of the euro have given the next blow reducing this presence month after month something that has culminated this September.

The liberalization of visas is argued to be another factor that the citizens of Kosovo have preferred to explore new destinations in some cases even from Tirana due to low cost lines.

But it seems that we are not only dealing with a fading interest in patriotic tourism. Official figures show a lower number of Czechs, a group that has been constantly growing and that has been interested in organized tourism.

Specifically, in August there were 2.4 percent fewer entries from the Czech Republic compared to August 2024, while there is a significant decrease in citizens from Belgium with a 34.5 percent contraction or citizens from Norway and Finland, which have a decrease of 55 percent and 52 percent, respectively.

What stands out is the fact that despite a slight fluctuation in the growth of citizens from Italy, the latter continued to remain the second largest group of citizens who visited our country during August and September.

Specifically, in August 2024, about 256 thousand Italian citizens entered with a 12 percent increase compared to August of the previous year, while in September the entries were 110 thousand or 26.4 percent more.

In fact, Italians were expected to have a higher presence during the summer months, but the increase in prices, especially in the South of the country, seems to have created panic among those who had made plans for Albania by canceling hotels, something that was also confirmed by the accommodation structures, especially during the month July.

With a slight increase during August and September, there were citizens from North Macedonia who are the third largest group visiting our country, while Greece and Montenegro are in fourth place.

Germany is the sixth country in the ranking, having in August 70.9 thousand visitors with a 30 percent increase compared to August 2023, while in September this increase was 6 percent compared to September of the previous year.

Poland had an increase of 21 percent during August, something that was also reflected by the tour operators who underlined that the organized groups had requested an increase in the accommodation capacity booked throughout the season for the organized tourism.

But from Poland it seems that the growth comes especially from individual tourism, something that has been visible this summer. Even during September, Poles had a 13 percent increase compared to September 2023./ Monitor Magazine