How much is tourism being supported by bank loans? AAB: Last year, the borrowing of businesses in this sector reached 9.1 billion lekë
At a time when tourism is making a major contribution to the country's economic and social development, are more businesses being added to this sector and how much are those currently investing in improving the quality of service?
According to data from the National Business Center, the highest number of new business registrations last year was in the category "Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles" with 4,865 registrations or 27.8%, followed by the accommodation and food service sector with 15.6%, where a portion of businesses operate in the field of tourism.
But how many of these tourism businesses took out loans to start up and how many of the existing businesses took out loans to make investments, with the aim of improving the quality of service?
Statistics from the Albanian Association of Banks (AAB) show that from 2020 to 2024, banks have supported the tourism sector with hundreds of new loans, with a total value of over 9 billion lek per year.
These figures translate into more accommodation and service units such as hotels, guesthouses, resorts, restaurants, marinas, infrastructure, and others, for an Albania always with higher tourist standards, the Association states.
In a 5-year period, 2021 would record the highest number and value of tourism loans, specifically 735 loans taken out, which amounted to 9.95 billion lek. In 2024, only 6 fewer loans were taken out than in 2023, but their amount was about 10.7% higher.
Despite the fact that tourism credit has returned to an upward trend, it continues to remain at low levels compared to 2021.
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