Albania enjoys tourism boom

Albania is enjoying a tourism boom, according to new figures. The number of foreign visitors to the country jumped 167 per cent in the third quarter of 2014 compared to the previous year, according to INSTAT. Visitor numbers now stand at 1,042,844, having been just 390,454 during the same period a year ago.
 
INSTAT's quarterly report reveals that  Western Europe are leading the way, with a 24.7 per cent increase in visitors, while East Asia and the Pacific combined with the South Asian region saw 42.34 per cent growth.
 
Peter Walshe, Marketing Director of Albania's first high end resort, Lalzit Bay Resort and Spa, comments: "As recent figures have shown, Albania is looking to be one of the stand-out destinations for travel this year and as the country begins to fully recognise the potential of its tourism market, this is sure to be just the beginning."

Summer 2015 will see the launch of a host of new flight routes, linking Albania's capital, Tirana, with even more key cities in Europe and beyond. A code-share deal between Czech Airlines and Travel Service, for example, will see new flights start between Prague and Tirana, and there will also be charter flights launched from Kosice airport in Slovakia into the Albanian capital. Alongside this, Kuwait investors are in talks about the potential launch of the new 'Albanian Airways' plane which will marry-up Tirana with European countries that are home to Albanian diaspora.

Italy's Air Vallée is also set to start scheduled flights between the Italian destinations of Rimini, Salerno, Bari and Pescara, flying into Tirana, making the Balkan country even more accessible to its neighbouring nation.
 
Numbeo's Consumer Price Index, part of their Cost of Living Index 2015, showed that Albania is some 40.77 per cent cheaper than Italy, which is helping it to draw attention.

Walshe continues: "We are certainly seeing a growing number of enquiries from people interested in buying property in the beautiful coastal region of Lalzit Bay, for both their own use and having recognised its investment potential. Albania is proving a popular choice for buyers in a wide range of nations."