Tourism was the sector that was hit hardest during 2020 due to restrictions.
Bank of Albania data show that foreigners' travel expenses to Albania were halved, to 989 million euros. In total, about 1.1 billion euros less have entered the country as a result of missing tourist spending.
Other INSTAT data show that the number of foreign nationals entering the country in 2020 fell by 58.5%, after the previous year had been the best in the history of Albanian tourism.
While foreigners had no restrictions on entering Albania since May, the European Union banned the travel of Albanian citizens from mid-March and still does not allow movement for tourist purposes. According to the Bank of Albania, Albanians' travel expenses abroad fell by 58% in 2020, to 667 million euros.
The balance of tourism (the difference between the expenditures of foreigners in Albania and Albanians abroad) in 2020 was positive of 321 million euros, but the lack of income from tourism has significantly damaged the domestic industry.
Read the full article, with more data, on Monitor.al .
