Denmark and Malaysia lead the growth in arrivals/ Daily visitors, over 286 thousand in six months or 1,580 per day
More than 5 million foreign national arrivals were registered in Albania during the first half of 2026. Compared to the same period a year earlier, the country hosted around 297 thousand more arrivals, with an annual increase of 6.2%.
Neighboring countries and Italy continue to hold the main weight. Over 1.7 million entries were registered from Kosovo, or about a third of the total, with a 3.8% increase compared to the previous year. Taken together, Kosovo and Italy account for approximately 46% of all entries of foreign citizens into the country.
But the most interesting developments come from smaller markets, which have seen very rapid growth. Denmark leads the way, with 12,492 entries, more than triple the previous year. The annual growth rate reached 230.8%, the highest among the countries recorded.
Another unusual increase was recorded by Malaysia. Arrivals from this country increased from 2,429 to 6,508, with an annual expansion of 167.9%.
Strong growth was also seen in Lithuania, up 81.4%, India up 78.3%, Finland up 57.6%, Israel up 49.5% and Poland up 44.8%. Spain and Ukraine also saw growth of over 40%.
On the other hand, the largest drop was recorded by Saudi Arabia, with 48.2%. There were also fewer entries from China, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria and several countries in the region.
According to the declared purpose of travel, the vast majority of entries, around 4.49 million, were related to holidays, visits to relatives and similar personal reasons. Meanwhile, around 116 thousand entries were registered for business and professional purposes, while over 166 thousand were transit passengers.
One particularly notable category is day visitors, who enter Albania without staying overnight. In six months, 286,584 such entries were recorded, or about 5.7% of the total.
Their flow increased significantly as the season approached. From around 22,000 in January, the number of daily visitors reached over 53,000 in April and peaked in May with 86,321 entries. In June, over 72,000 were registered, more than triple the January level.
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