Tourism, hotels are growing revenues faster than restaurants

Albania is experiencing positive developments in the tourism sector with the increase in overnight stays and the number of foreign visitors, but the first data show that hotels have increased sales revenue more than restaurants.

According to INSTAT data, the index of value sales in the hotel sector recorded an annual increase of 30.7% in the second quarter of 2023.

Restaurants also had growth, but at lower rates than hotels. The restaurant sales index increased by 16% compared to the second quarter of 2022.

Albania was advertised as a cheap destination and for this fact, many foreign tourists from Western Europe chose our country for their annual vacation.

The increase in income for these activities seems to have been more influenced by the price increase.

Comparison of official data shows high informality in the tourism sector.

According to INSTAT, in 2022, the Albanian economy generated about 4.5 trillion ALL. Hotels and restaurants contributed 11.8% of total turnover in the economy, up from just 2.3% in 2021.

But on the other hand, tourism's contribution to wage employment remained unchanged in 2022 compared to 2021.

The contribution to employment continued to be weak this year as well. The employment index in hotel businesses recorded an annual increase of 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023, while restaurants recorded an annual increase of the employment index of 1.6%.

The tourism sector showed a high demand for employees, but a large part of the needs are being met with foreigners as a result of shortages within the country.

Referring to the data, Albania was visited only during the month of August by more than 2 million foreigners. Of the 5,667,121 foreigners who visited the country during the 8th month of 2022, in the January-August period of this year, Albania was visited by 7,190,410 foreign visitors, marking an increase of 27%.

Meanwhile, data from the Bank of Albania show that in the first 6 months of 2023, the expenses of foreigners who traveled to Albania increased by 37% compared to the first 6 months of 2022, reaching 1.55 billion euros. the highest figure ever recorded.

 Source: INSTAT/Monitor