Albania: Europe’s new holiday hotspot?
Tirana Skyline by Jonathan Black
With the Guardian dubbing it the “Maldives” of Europe and the CEO of TUI calling it “a great country” for holidaymakers, Jonathan Black, investigates whether the small Balkan can take the heat.
The once communist pariah state has seen record numbers of tourists visiting over the last few years, with official projections forecasting a 40% increase in 2024. This follows news that even the Trumps are getting involved – with the son-in-law of the former president, Jared Kushner, set to invest in a luxury resort in the south of the country.
Albania is a nation brimming with natural beauty, from Alp-like mountains to a stunning coastline rivalling neighbouring Greece. It would have undoubtedly been one of Europe’s most popular destinations earlier, had it not been for its troubled history. A history which saw it presided over by a brutal dictator, Enver Hoxha, for 40 years.
Following his death and the nation’s liberation from communism, Albania endured a tumultuous period of financial hardship, including a financial crisis which two thirds of its citizens lose their savings.
However, in the last decades the nation has made significant economic strides as it has slowly opened up and embraced the free market. The current government led by Edi Rama, is seeking EU candidacy and the nation is attempting to rapidly modernise to meet the criteria of Brussels. This has also led to a rise in tourism, as curious travellers flock to discover this mysterious nation.
Frenkli Pregaj is a manager and tour guide at Discover Albania, and has been working in the tourism industry for the last seven years. His journey started after he and some friend decided to travel around the country after finishing high school and sharing content on their recommendations and insights on Youtube.
Pregaj said at the time there “wasn’t this massive tourism” that Albania is experiencing now, and that this current phenomenon “only started around two/three years ago.”
Pregaj has witnessed the industry explode since then and cites the UK press as one of the leading contributors to its increasing popularity, which he says put Albania on “another level” in terms of tourism.
He said: “The Guardian started this chain reaction in the media when they started writing about the south of Albania and calling it the “Maldives” of Europe.
“Also, the BBC has written a lot of articles regarding the north of Albania, mainly considering it as having the same nature and beauty as the Austrian Alps, but at a much lower cost.”
Cost is indeed a factor that is behind the boom, with prices in Albania being much cheaper than neighbouring countries – with an average three-star hotel in Tirana costing as little as £30 per night.
Sei Koka owns two hotels in the capital and has seen his business quadruple in the last year alone.
He said: “I started this business three years ago with 14 rooms and now I have 60 rooms and two apartments.”
Koka says that his hotels are almost fully booked for May-September 2024 and says he believes that “the cheap prices are a big reason” behind this.
Official figures by the Albanian government confirmed that a record 10 million visitors came to Albania in 2023. Government projections suggest that this number will rise to 14 million in 2024 and Pregaj believes this is accurate, based on his own data.
He said: “I was checking some numbers in our office, and they are double or triple (that of last year) just for this period – and the summer season is just about to start. This means these projections are real and going to happen.”
Harry Williamson, a journalist from Glasgow, is one such tourist. He visited Tirana last year shortly after a new route opened from Edinburgh. While admitting he knew little about the country, he was blown away by it and its people.
He said: “The people were amazing. They kept stopping us and asking where we were from and recommending places to go.”
He called the nation “beautiful” and said he would “definitely visit again.”
Williamson is typical of many tourists who come to Albania not knowing about its history and the impact that it has on the nation today. According to Pregaj Albania remains the poorest country in Europe and is “one or two steps behind” it’s neighbours in terms of infrastructure.
He believes that this may leave visitors frustrated, as the nation struggles to keep up with the booming private tourism industry.
He said: “The private sector can adapt much faster to new requirements, unlike infrastructure, which is in the hands of public institutions. This happens not only in Albania, not only in the tourism sector, but in every part of the economy in most countries.”
One issue seems to be the inability to make cashless payments in many businesses, which lack modern card readers, requiring tourists to carry significant amounts of cash during their stay.
Prengaj says that the situation is improving and that around “90 per cent of restaurants and bars can accommodate cashless payments” in Tirana.
Presently the nation has only two airports, Tirana International Airport and Kukes Airport (in the north). However, this is set to change with a new airport underway in the south, in Vlora.
Currently, the south of the country remains isolated, with resorts such as Saranda being a five-hour drive from Tirana. Pregaj says that the new airport, which should be completed in three years, will lead to the real “start of the Albania Riveria” as accessibility increases.
However, this is likely to come at a cost, he warns, following the involvement of foreign investment, which will turn the area into an “exclusive resort” and lead to significant price hikes, mirroring neighbours Croatia.
He said: “You have around three or four years still left to visit Albania with these low-cost prices, because things are moving fast right now.
Albania is in the midst immense of transformation and the determination of its people driving it is palpable. As things progress at lightning speed, it is evident that the nation faces significant challenges to meet its new expectations. The next few years will determine whether it is up to the mark.
