Tourism, an important sector for banks/ Accommodation represents 10.3% of the business loan portfolio
Credit to the tourism-related sector is picking up, reflecting the expansion of investments in accommodation and food services. According to data from the Bank of Albania, during the first seven months of 2026, businesses in this sector received 14.85 billion lek in new loans, up from about 9 billion lek in the same period last year.
Within a year, new financing has grown by about 65.6%, a significantly higher pace than the 14.3% growth in new credit to businesses as a whole.
The sector's share of business lending has also increased significantly. In January-July 2026, accommodation and food services accounted for about 8.6% of all new business lending, up from just 5.9% a year earlier.
The growth is also seen in the overall loan portfolio. At the end of July, the stock of credit for accommodation and food services reached 55.7 billion lek, up from 50.2 billion lek in July 2025, or about 11% more.
This sector now represents about 10.3% of the entire business loan portfolio, which means that approximately 1 in every 10 lek of outstanding business loans is related to accommodation and food service activities.
Over a longer horizon, the expansion is even more evident. In July 2019, the loan portfolio for this sector was around 14.9 billion lek, while seven years later it has reached 55.7 billion lek, an increase of approximately 3.7 times.
Data show that the accommodation and food service sector is increasingly gaining weight in bank lending, while the strong growth in new credit signals continued investment and financing needs in activities directly related to tourism.
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