The tourism sector in Albania experienced a nearly 100 per cent increase in visitor numbers during the first month of this year, in comparison to the figures for the same period in 2022.
According to Albanian data statistics agency, INSTAT, a total of 377, 211 foreign tourists visited Albania in January this year, in comparison to 194,237 recorded during the same period in 2022, thus accounting for an increase of 94.2 per cent, VisaGuide.World reports.
The number of domestic tourists also surged significantly from 259,835 recorded in January last year to 456,239 in the first month of this year.
Last year, some 7.5 million people visited Albania, accounting for a surge of more than 32 per cent compared to the figures of the year before.
Despite the difficulties caused by the restrictions imposed to contain the further spread of the Coronavirus, tourism in Albania experienced a significant increase over the last few years.
The figures provided by the World Health Organization reveal that authorities in Albania have registered a total of 333,455 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,598 deaths. The same source shows that as of February 5, a total of 3,058,102 vaccine doses have been administered in this country.
Even though Albania’s tourism industry was among the most affected ones by the COVID-19 situation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inflation, the country manages to welcome a large number of internationals.
In order to further help the travel and tourism sector, authorities in Albania reached an agreement with China and the United Arab Emirates for visa-free travel.
The decision was confirmed by Albania’s Council of Ministers earlier this month.
The Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhacka said that the map would further be expanded for Albanian citizens wishing to travel without being required to apply for a visa at first.
“Today we passed two important agreements. We have concluded agreements with the Republic of China and the United Arab Emirates. They will create increased facilities for Albanians who want to travel to these countries. They will no longer need entry visas,” Minister Xhacka noted.
Authorities in Albania are continuously working in order to permit their citizens to travel visa-free to many other countries worldwide, thus making the country’s passport more powerful.
Albania’s passport is ranked in the 92nd position in the VisaGuide.World Passport index, which ranks passports of a total of 199 countries based on specific factors in order to determine their strength.
According to VisaGuide.World Passport Index, Albania has a passport score of 58.6, while Albanians can travel visa-free to a total of 77 countries.
The post Nearly 100% Tourism Increase in Albania in January 2023 appeared first on VisaGuide.World.
