Albanian Tourism -- Promising Investment?

On August 5th, the Southeast European Times published an article titled "Albanian tourism on the rise." The article reported a 20% increase in June in tourist visits to Albania compared with the same period last year. While the numbers might be questionable -- Albanian tourism statistics are not complete yet -- there is no doubt that Albania is being discovered as an international tourist destination. Some caveats are required here though.

As the article points out, most of the visitors are coming from Kosovo -- a 43% increase over last year. And visitors from Macedonia increased by 42%. These are not high spending visitors though, so proportional increases in tourism receipts are not occurring. If anything, the country's infrastructure -- especially electricity and water supply -- are under increasing strain.

Nevertheless, investors are coming. After more than a three year hiatus due to uncertain land ownership, Club Med is finally moving forward in Kakome on the coast between Saranda and Durres. And the Omnix Investment Group from Dubai and Qatar seems to be moving forward with a 638 million Euro tourism investment north of Durres. The tourism investment outlook is looking brighter for Albania -- land title and infrastructure are key issues to watch!