[ad_1]
This year’s summer tourist season is emerging with different trends, but everyone agrees that it will be a year, better than those we left behind in the pandemic.
Optimists believe that we will have an even better year than 2019, pessimists close to this year, which was the best in history. In practice, until now, Durrës is holding the place of the champion for organized tourism, with a demand that goes 30% above the capacity. Saranda, although there is no increase in organized tourism, has seen an increase in the interest of individual foreigners, mainly young Europeans. Vlora expects to have a significant number of Italians, while Himara remains a family favorite. The tourism engine is expected to be fully fired up in the second half of July and throughout August. Hotel prices have increased by 10-50% across the country, making tourists more careful with their spending.
I believe that you too, in the family or social circle, have occasionally heard the sentence affirmed this summer: I will go abroad for vacation, I have found a very good package. It is true that after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic, some Albanians have chosen to rest outside. More of a newfound freedom after the restrictions, aggressive marketing and all-inclusive packages offered by some countries.
On the other hand, there is an increase in the interest of foreign tourists in Albania this season.
The increase in tourist flows is a trend that every destination is experiencing, just look at neighbors like Greece, Montenegro, Croatia. Everyone is predicting to have the best tourism year ever, even better than 2019 based on the latest statistics.
For our country, tour operators, experts in the sector and impressions from the field do not show a panorama of only white or only black in this season. It is much more complex than that and the trends emerging vary from region to region.
Despite the issues and reservations, most expect this to be a good year for tourism. The more pessimistic side expects it to be somewhat lower than the figure of 2019, the best year in the history of tourism in the country, while the optimists think it could be as good as this year, even with an increase in easy.
As the first part of the season has passed, the part from July 15 to August 31 is predicted to be the peak of the season for the entire country. What this year has served as a restraining factor is the increase in costs and, therefore, prices.
Durrës, “champion” of organized tourism, demand on capacities
Durrës has returned this tourist season with an increase in demand from foreign agencies for organized tourism. While during the pandemic, these groups were limited or some markets were completely absent, this summer the demand is over the capacities.
This is always about structures with a large number of rooms, suitable for this type of tourism. Rrahman Kasa, from the Albanian Tourist Union, says that this summer is also from Durres and that just like the first part of the summer, the rest of the season is expected to be good.
“Durresi is also very good in this season, we are talking about June and July. But the expectations are the same for the future. At least organized tourism is much better than the past two seasons, as the lifting of restrictions and the return of some markets that were absent during the pandemic has boosted numbers. We can say that for the accommodation structures, which meet the conditions required by this type of tourism, the demand is almost 30% higher than the capacity we can offer”Kasa says.
But while there is an increase in interest in organized tourism, where even the Nordics who were absent during the pandemic have returned this summer, for individual tourism, the perception is different. Blerim Norja says that this type of tourism as a whole for Durrës seems to have had a weaker performance in the first part of the summer.
“Durresi, in general, has a decrease in relation to years, somewhere around 15% of tourists. It is the absence of Ukrainian tourists who started visiting this destination. The part organized with the traditional markets Poland, the Czech Republic has been very good, and there has even been an increase in the number of bookings more than the initial booking. To return once again to the individual markets, those I see present are the Italians, the Serbs, the Kosovar Albanians. The latter, it seems as if they are somewhat less than years”, asserts Norja.
Regarding prices, he says that there is a general increase only for Durrës, with 15%, while for food, less than 10%. His expectations are that this year, September will also be very good, while August has historically been the best month. Norja estimates that there is interest in bookings that go up to September and this is the basis for thinking that we will have a season that will last.
Shengjini “relies” on Kosovo and the diaspora, costs increase prices
Shengjin, with several large structures and “tradition” in offering organized tourism, this year relies mainly on patriotic and individual tourism. Bledar Shima, manager of a resort, says that the main part of tourists are Kosovo Albanians, as well as the diaspora of this country and Albania.
He says that the pandemic brought a kind of stalemate with guaranteed contracts, but there has been no lack of interest in them from foreign agencies and most likely in 2023 there will be active contracts.
“This year we have tourists from the diaspora of Albania and Kosovo, but also Kosovo Albanians, who are traditionally an important group for Shengjin. We do not have contracts with guarantees, due to the restrictions in force the past two years of the pandemic. For 2023, we will again see the opportunities we have to close contracts with guarantees, as we have had interest from the Swiss.
Kosovo has great interest in Shengjin this year and this is reflected in quite good numbers. This has also encouraged investments in the hotel sector, where new structures have been opened, while there is also a greater commitment to adapting apartments or flats for that group of tourists who prefer them. On weekends, Shengjin is full“, claims Shima.
He also estimates that there has been a significant increase in costs in some segments such as energy, wages, oil or food, which has brought about a 20-30% increase in prices from accommodation structures in the Shengjin area. If this year will be better than 2019 for tourism, Shima says that it will be a good year, but he does not think that it will reach the level of the best historical year of tourism in Albania.
Vlora is expected to be “occupied” by Italians, the most prudent tourists
Vlora in June and the first part of July did not record any extraordinary increase in tourists. Of course they are not missing, but the peak of the season is expected to be in the remainder of the summer. Enrik Mehmeti, journalist and expert in the sector, says that the expectation was for a large influx of tourists since June, but it seems that this was influenced by the general uncertainty of the Russia-Ukraine war and the price crisis.
“June and the beginning of July appear somewhat weaker than previous years, and I think this comes from the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is also being felt in our country. It is normal to see most of the tents empty, not only in Vlora but also in those places that are known as very popular holiday destinations, such as Dhërmiu, Jali, Himara, Saranda and so on.
On the other hand, a boom of mostly Italian tourists is expected from mid-July until September. According to the information I have from tourist operators, tourism this year will continue until mid-September, something that is supported by the arrival of Italians. While the period from the middle of July to the end of August will have the peak of the arrival of tourists, completely changing the tourist panorama of the season and making a difference“, affirms Mehmeti.
According to him, the increase in prices has also occurred in the South area in most structures, but also in restaurants, and as a result, tourists are being more careful with their spending.
“What is noticed is that tourists are taking rooms, despite their more expensive price. They are willing to pay for a comfortable room with conditions, but it is not the same behavior when it comes to bars and restaurants. They are more careful with their choice, they search longer for cheaper places. They tend to look for the menu and see the prices in detail, not like before when the order was given immediately. Nightlife this year is lukewarm, it’s not like last years, but it’s expected to “explode in August”“, says Mehmeti.
Himara attracts loyal local vacationers but also individual foreigners
Himara had an average tourism performance in the first part of the summer, supported mainly by foreigners and on weekends also by locals. The addition of several new accommodation structures in this area, with average capacity, has increased interest from organized tourism, but it remains at low levels.
The operators claim that the peak of the season will be August for this city as well. In this period, an increase in foreign tourists is expected, but also “faithful” within the country, which are mainly families who have chosen not to leave abroad.
In August, a large part of the structures are already booked with a satisfactory occupancy, while the preference for apartments has increased, prompting many Himarjots to make reconstructions and investments to adapt them as structures for tourists.
The number of apartments and flats of this nature has increased significantly. Tourist operators also confirm that families have chosen apartments and average hotels, while luxury hotels continue to remain available in a minority of rooms and reservations are mainly made by foreigners and the Albanian diaspora. The prices in Himare have increased in the range between 15-30% for a good part of the hotels.
Young Europeans are visiting Saranda, less organized tourism
Saranda, for several years, experienced a gradual increase in organized tourism where foreign agencies, through charters that landed in Corfu, brought visitors in cooperation with local tour operators. But it seems that this type of tourism, completely faded during the pandemic, due to restrictions, will remain so this year as well. Despite this, it is noted that the interest of foreigners who come individually is increasing, compensating for the lack of the first group.
Arben Çipa, from the Association of Hoteliers in Saranda, says that the trend of new visitors from European countries who like to explore Albania as a whole and who use Corfu Airport to come to Saranda is striking.
“As a season, it has a significant tourist population, but the format of the tourist has changed. If until last year, we had family members as tourists, this year we noticed the phenomenon of young couples and most of them, about 90%, are Western tourists.
They are Spanish, French, English who come individually, through reservations on online platforms such as Booking. They come from Corfu, which is the easiest route for flights and Europeans find it much easier to access Saranda”, he affirms.
According to Čipa, even in the area of Saranda and Ksamil, the structures were forced to increase prices by 10% due to the increase in costs./ Monitor
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link