Albania’s tourism sector is bracing for a weaker summer season than initially expected, as early optimism for a double-digit growth in visitor numbers fades amid sluggish bookings and infrastructure challenges.
At the start of the year, Albanian tour operators forecast a 15% increase in tourism compared to 2024, driven by the country’s growing popularity as an affordable Mediterranean destination. However, recent data on cross-border movement shows growth falling short of expectations.
According to official figures, foreign arrivals in May were up just 1.9% year-on-year, bringing total growth for the first five months of 2025 to 3.9%.
Industry representatives say the slowdown appears set to deepen over the peak summer months. Preliminary bookings for July and August are significantly lower than last year, while June also underperformed, according to hotel operators.
“Based on my contacts with hotels, June was weaker than expected. There were fewer individual bookings than last year,” said Rrahman Kasa, head of the Albanian Tourism Union.
Kasa noted that only organized tourism packages are holding up, due to pre-paid guaranteed contracts. Independent reservations along the coast — from Durrës to Vlorë and Sarandë — are lagging behind 2024 levels, with the exception of Shëngjin and Velipojë, where Kosovo remains the main source market.
With fewer diaspora visitors expected and weaker demand from Kosovo, operators now hope a stronger autumn will offset losses during the peak season.
“I believe the summer figures will be below last year’s, but overall, 2025 could still surpass 2024 thanks to a solid spring and cultural tours in autumn,” Kasa said. “Still, growth will fall short of our initial expectations.”
Golem remains the country’s main organized tourism destination, but it too is facing difficulties attracting individual travelers this year.
In addition to slower bookings, basic infrastructure problems are adding pressure. Promised flights from Vlorë Airport did not materialize this spring, forcing operators to renegotiate pre-paid charter contracts and absorb extra costs.
Meanwhile, parts of Albania’s coastline continue to struggle with substandard roads and construction sites on popular beaches, which have drawn complaints from foreign agencies and tour groups.
“Many groups have been arriving since late May, but their feedback has not been very positive,” Kasa said. “Most complaints are about the ongoing construction, and now there’s the water shortage — at least in Golem.”
Due to repair work on the Manskuri reservoir, which supplies Golem with water, local businesses have been forced to rely on private water tankers or dig new wells to meet demand.