Albania: the tourist destination of summer 2023

Fortunately, the days are long gone when, on the channels of the "biscione", people used to make fun of Albania with Striscia la Berisha: the questionable satirical news programme created when it was Italy that was the destination of immigration. This summer, in fact, there has been a real turnaround, not only by sea, and it was the Italians who chose Albania for their summer holidays in 2023.

Why is it the ideal destination?

What were the reasons for this real fashion? Obviously there are many, and we know that you too will have at least one friend or relative who has decided to travel to Albania. Firstly, after the pandemic years and the return to the possibility of travelling, the thirty Italian airports connected to the capital, Tirana, helped the exodus from Italy in no small measure.

A sea for all

Undoubtedly the first lever to have attracted so many Italians to Albania is a sea with little to envy from other locations on the Adriatic or Ionian Seas. In addition, these are accessible tourist destinations at more affordable prices, a decisive factor in these times of economic crisis. 

Tourism in Albania: the numbers

Already 2022 had marked over 600,000 Italian tourists, who chose Albania marking a + 72% compared to 2021 and a + 30% to 2019 before Covid. The first six months of 2023, on the other hand, saw 310,000 Italians travel to the Albanian coast and beyond, a good 57% more than the same period a year ago.

Not just the sea: historical, cultural and natural heritage

But Albania is not just beaches and cheap establishments, as it is a country rich in historical, cultural and natural heritage. Indeed, it cannot be ruled out that our fellow citizens have also visited the UNESCO sites of Berati and Gjirokastra, veritable open-air museums. Or that nature-lovers have been drawn to the wonders of the Mount Dajti National Park

Rural Albania

Finally, the rural and little-explored hinterland will also have attracted lovers of trekking and more adventurous excursions. It is curious, as proof of this trend, how Feltrinelli has just this year published a tourist guide to Albania, signed by Benko Gjata, Albanian journalist and certified tour guide, and Francesco Vietti, when 'twelve years ago I was struggling to find a publisher', as the Tirana-born author put it.

Let us give some examples of prices

Considering the outlay we have to pay even at the lowest establishment in our country to get a beach umbrella and a couple of deck chairs, the prices in Albania were too much of a lure not to take the bait. Let us give a few examples. As Benko Gjata himself recalls, 'on a beach on the Ionian coast in my country, a beach umbrella in the first row with two sunbeds costs no more than 10 euro a day'.

And the food?

The Albanian journalist continues: 'The average price of a grilled sea bream on this stretch of coast is between 10 and 12 euro, the salad 3 euro and the beer 2.50 euro, served at the table in the small restaurants overlooking the sea.