Albania starts the year with strong tourism growth/Leads the region in overnight stays in the first quarter
Tourism in Albania has continued to show positive signals during the first months of 2026. Data published by Eurostat show that the country has recorded a significant increase in overnight stays in accommodation structures, ranking among the best performers in the region and in some cases even among the countries with the highest growth in Europe.
In total, during the first quarter of 2026, around 834 thousand overnight stays were recorded in Albania, with growth from both domestic and foreign tourists. This trend confirms that the tourist season is no longer limited to the summer months, but is gradually extending throughout the year.
January was particularly positive, with a 10.57% increase in overnight stays compared to the same period a year earlier. The growth was mainly driven by domestic tourists, whose overnight stays expanded by nearly 20%. Thanks to this result, Albania recorded the best performance in the region for the first month of the year.
February continued in the same vein, with a 9.84% increase in overnight stays. Even during this month, domestic visitors remained the main factor in the expansion of tourism activity, while Albania ranked second in the region for growth rates.
Meanwhile, March brought the strongest result of the quarter. Overnight stays increased by 12.72%, placing Albania at the top of the region and among the best performing countries in Europe. Unlike the first two months of the year, during March it was foreign tourists who contributed most to the expansion of activity, signaling a growing interest of international visitors in Albanian destinations even outside the traditional summer season.
At the European level, the first quarter of 2026 recorded 471.1 million overnight stays in tourist accommodation, or 3.4% more than a year earlier. The growth was supported by both foreign and domestic visitors, reflecting the continued recovery and expansion of the tourism sector across the continent.
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