Ekonomia

By what percentage did the overnight stays of tourists in Albania during 2020 fall?

By what percentage did the overnight stays of tourists in Albania during 2020

The year 2020 started well for tourism, with an increase in tourist overnight stays in January and February, but then took a sudden turn due to restrictions imposed as a result of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eurostat reported that overnight stays in tourist accommodation units in Albania fell by 27.5% in 2020 compared to 2019, dropping to about 800 thousand nights. Shrinkage has been lower than in the European Union, where a 52% decline in overnight stays by 2020 is reported.

According to Eurostat, quarantine drastically affected the decline in travel and the most difficult months for Albanian tourism were March and April, with shrinking overnight stays by -74% and -100% respectively. The revival started in May and June, although with contractions of -29 and -16%, while July is the only month where overnight tourist stays increased by 3% compared to the same period a year ago. The opening of the economy and especially the arrival of citizens from Kosovo influenced this trend. The number of domestic tourists was also increasing, as due to the limitations of the pandemic they could not travel abroad.

In August, this indicator fell to 6.4%, while in September the decline deepened to 35%. The good weather in October caused the tourism in the country to improve somewhat (decrease -15%), while the increased wave of the pandemic from November made that month the net-stays see a contraction of 42%.

The reintroduction of restrictions in December and the banning of end-of-year holiday celebrations in hotels are reported to have had major effects on Albanian tourism. The number of net-stays in December (which is traditionally the third best after July-August), fell by 83%, devaluing the slight recovery in the summer months.

Greece and Cyprus suffered the most in 2020

Sipas Eurostat, në vitin 2020, turizmi ishte ndër sektorët më të prekur nga pandemia COVID-19, për shkak të kufizimeve të udhëtimit, si dhe masave të tjera parandaluese të marra si përgjigje ndaj pandemisë. Në vitin 2020, numri i netëve të kaluara në njësitë e akomodimit turistik të Bashkimit Evropian (BE) arriti në 1.4 miliardë, me rënie me 52% krahasuar me 2019.

Numri i netëve të kaluara në vitin 2020 krahasuar me një vit më parë u ul në të gjitha Shtetet Anëtare të BE-së. Qiproja, Greqia dhe Malta ishin vendet më të prekura me rënie që kaluan 70%. Në skajin tjetër të shkallës, Hollanda dhe Danimarka raportuan rënie prej më pak se 35%.

Në vitin 2020 krahasuar me vitin 2019, netët e kaluara nga jorezidentët e vendit (vizitorë të huaj) ranë me 68%, ndërsa netët e kaluara nga banorët (vizitorët vendas) ranë me 38%.

Among EU countries, only residents of Slovenia (+ 33%), followed by Malta and Cyprus (both + 15%) spent more tourism nights within their country compared to 2019. In contrast, Spain, Greece and Romania recorded the highest declines of more than 40%.

The number of nights spent by foreign tourists in 2020 compared to a year ago decreased in all EU Member States where data are available, the largest reductions of more than 80% were observed in Cyprus and Romania.

* Received from Monitor.al