Albania is jumping up the international tourism rankings – but a chronic lack of infrastructure and workers suggests that the sector’s true potential may not be realised.
In a striking example, Albania has shown how the tourism sector can drive economic development. Following the country’s turbulent economic and political transition in the 1990s, tourism was perched on the sidelines of the Albanian economy. Over the last two decades, however, the contribution of the Albania’s tourism and travel sector to the country’s (GDP has been increased and reached more than 8%, creating jobs and generating 38% of total exports.