Expenditures of foreigners in Albania increase by 8.5 percent

Non-residents have spent a total of Lek 1,044,839 million in the 2013- 2017 period in Albania, statistical office INSTAT said on Thursday. The average growth of the spending increased by 8.5 % in 2017 compared to 2013. Spending for personal purposes account for an average of 79.4% and for business purposes account for 20.6% of the total, INSTAT said in a press release. Albania is experiencing an increase in the number of tourists in recent years. According to the statistical office, the inflows of foreign nationals increased on average by 12% over the period 2013-2017. Entries from Europe's region account for the largest share of foreign nationals' inflows, 92.4%, and have increased on average by 12.3%. Moreover, the total number of foreign nationals who visited Albania in the January-May period 2018 increased by 7.7% year-on-year to 1.42 million, INSTAT said in a monthly report in June. However, the number of foreign nationals who visited Albania for the purpose of recreation decreased by 32% on the year to 316,630 in the first five months of 2018. The largest numbers of international visitors came from Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro and Italy, while Polish visitors registered the sharpest growth, by 34%, in the January-May period. In May alone, Albania was visited by 394,869 foreign nationals, up 9.7% year-on-year. Of the total, 148,291 came for recreational purposes, up 12.2% compared to May 2017.

Source: Ora News