By Eni Muça – Tourism in Albania has entered a phase of reflection. Although official figures show a slight increase in the number of tourists during the first half of 2025 — with over 4.76 million foreign visitors, a 5% rise compared to last year — the voices of tourism operators and industry experts are more reserved than ever.
What stands out is a noticeable drop in the retention rate — the percentage of returning visitors. First-time tourists who visited Albania this year have not returned. The reasons are many, but mostly relate to unfulfilled expectations, a lack of lasting value, and prices that don’t match the quality of service.
Renowned hospitality and tourism expert Gladiola Dona sums it up clearly when she says that last year, “we satisfied curiosity, but didn’t give people a reason to return.”
“We quenched their curiosity, and they left. I said it last year — we weren’t ready for a ‘boom’ without echo. We raised prices without basing them on what we were offering. I’m not in favor of low prices, but of prices that reflect high-quality service. If we fail to improve service, then we must lower prices. We’re competing with smarter markets in the region, who base their prices on service and quality and are refined enough to play with pricing. They do ‘yield’ — the right price for the right client at the right time — and that’s how they get the best out of the season.”
The situation is not just about prices or the experience inside a hotel or restaurant. Infrastructure issues are critical. The lack of drinking water in tourist areas like Golem, pollution in some beaches, unmanaged waste, and uncontrolled construction are directly affecting the visitor experience.
Another major factor is the shortage of qualified staff, linked both to youth emigration and the lack of sustainable professional training in the sector. These combined elements have caused Albania to be perceived as an interesting destination for a first visit, but not as a place one would want to return to every year.
Unlike neighboring countries that are applying dynamic pricing strategies and creating personalized experiences for tourists, Albania is still trying to find the right balance between offering, pricing, and value.
Being “new and undiscovered” is no longer enough. The time has come for a deep and professional transformation of the tourism industry.
Investing in quality, experience, service, and the way relationships with visitors are built is essential to creating sustainable tourism. Without these elements, every seasonal increase will remain a temporary wave — not translating into long-term development.
As expert Dona rightly states:
“We’re still learning how to be patient and how to take measured steps. That’s the biggest challenge for Albanian tourism in 2025.”
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