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3.2 billion euros from tourism! Godfather: 10.1 million tourists visited Albania during 2023

2024-01-06 14:03:51Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

3.2 billion euros from tourism! Godfather: 10.1 million tourists visited Albania

The Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro held today the press conference on the annual analysis of the ministry and to present the priorities of 2024 in the field of tourism and environment.

Minister Kumbaro said that the year 2023 was the best for tourism, as a result of the successful cooperation between the actors of the sector, the legal framework, but also the good promotion of the country.

"10.1 million tourists visited Albania during 2023, from all six continents, except for Europe, which carries the main weight of inflows, however, the most interesting trends of the past year were the flows of Spanish, Dutch and Italian tourists. From Turkey, there was also a significant increase in arrivals of 200,000 tourists or 110% more compared to the previous year," said Kumbaro.

In her speech, Minister Kumbaro said that the largest flows of visitors are concentrated on the coast, therefore during these years a new standard has been set regarding applications, management and cleanliness.

"The mandatory area of ​​public beaches in each municipality has increased to 30%, in some cases even 50%. Applications for the management of beach plots for 2024 have been completed in 2023. A total of 1,917 applications are being reviewed and contracts between municipalities, the National Coastal Agency and entities will be signed by March. Regarding cleaning, we continue the "Clean Beaches" operation. There are already 107 marine tourism operators certified by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment", said Kumbaro.

The minister also mentioned the promotion of 1,100 events and 25,000 downloads of the TEA application, expressing the ambition that this digital calendar of events will turn into a "One Stop Shop" which, in addition to promotion, will also provide connections between businesses.

Meanwhile, work continues on the drafting of the 2024-2030 Tourism Strategy with the support of the German Cooperation Society (GIZ), as well as on the new draft law on Tourism which will be passed to the government next week.

Minister Kumbaro stated that there are positive trends of formalization, as a result of a wide communication and awareness campaign, where business and the public sector benefit, since categorized hotels pay VAT reduced to 6%, regardless of whether they are guesthouses or 5-star hotels .

In relation to the environment, Albania left behind the Year of the Year, during which a National Park was declared and a feasibility study was carried out.

"We declared Vjosa National Park and conducted the feasibility study, in an international process certified by IUCN. And it was precisely the process of announcing Vjosa, a model highly appreciated globally, the godfather of Albania's membership at the state level, with full rights in IUCN, in December. To continue with Vjosa, we concluded the year 2023 with the development of the international competition for the construction of the Multifunctional Center of the National Park, with a center in Tepelena and two antennas in Përmet and Nartë. There were 3 international finalist studios, where CEBRA studio was declared the winner. Construction work starts this year", said minister Kumbaro. Meanwhile, in the month of January, the work for the registration of Vjosa in UNESCO begins.

Kumbaro said this was a successful year for Protected Areas with 4.5 million visitors. Also, Minister Kumbaro highlighted two very important projects for the environment with the European Union, EU4Nature for management plans of protected areas and EU4Rivers for water management by aligning them with EU standards.

"In 2024, we will have a very close cooperation with the National Agency of the Information Society for the construction of a Digital Integrated Environmental System at the KMA", added Minister Kumbaro.


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