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Tourism 2025/ Xama: Albania has had the weakest tourist season recorded since the year of the pandemic

2025-09-07 13:18:00, Sociale CNA

Tourism 2025/ Xama: Albania has had the weakest tourist season recorded since

Journalist Ola Xama, through a status on social media, has spoken about this year's tourist season. Xama writes that this season has been the weakest since the pandemic, referring to data for the period January-July.

The journalist writes that in 2022, for the period January-July, 1.1 million more foreign visitors entered Albania. While for the same period, this year only 225 thousand more visitors entered.

Xama writes that the reasons why Albania is not a sustainable destination for tourists need to be identified.

In her status, Xama states that one of the problems is the minimal service, citing the case of Dhërmi beach, where she says the trash cans were overflowing and uncleaned.

The journalist also writes that in tourist areas there are problems with water supply, where entities provide it privately.

Xama states that the government and municipalities are to blame for Albania not being a sustainable tourist destination, as they do not provide minimum services for tourists.

" Albania has had the weakest tourist season recorded since the year of the pandemic, according to figures for the January-July period.
In 2022, for the period January-July, 1.1 million more foreign visitors entered Albania with a 40% growth rate, in 2023 1.2 million more (30% annual growth) and in 2024 1.19 million more visitors were registered from January to July with a 23% increase.
For the period January-July 2025, the increase in the number of foreign visitors was 225 thousand, with a 3.5% growth rate. There is no decrease in the number of foreign visitors, but a decrease in the pace of their increase and not a little but by almost 7 times compared to the previous year.
So instead of conferences where we talk about how successful a season we had, it is good to identify the reasons why Albania is not a sustainable destination where tourists want to return and what is happening offered to visitors.
Before we find the reasons for the high prices and private operators, public agencies would do well to analyze the minimal community services available in these areas.
Along the beach of Dhërmi, for example, which is considered one of the most elite areas, I counted a total of 4 garbage bins, overflowing and no one from the municipality going to collect the waste. Electricity was cut off whenever there was wind to protect the lines from defects, while water was mainly provided by private entities that had installed wells.
When I asked some local businesses in this area, they told me that they paid 35 thousand euros in fees for using the coastline and about 25 thousand euros in local taxes to the municipality, to receive no services. No water, no cleaning, no greenery (the trees and asphalt along the beach were made with private contributions). If you calculate the accounts that businesses pay twice, both to the municipality and privately to receive the services, the price per night will be high.
"So before the government points the finger and blames business for why tourists are not returning, it is good to ask itself and the municipalities of these areas: is it worth it for a tourist who pays up to 700 euros a night to return when there is no water, sometimes no electricity and it stinks from the smell of garbage ," writes Xama./ CNA