The number of foreign tourists who visited Albania in 2025 rose to 12.47 million from 11.7 million in the previous year, the statistical office, INSTAT, said on Friday.

Tourists from Southern Europe made the largest group, accounting for 71.5% of all foreign tourists last year, INSTAT said in a statement. In December alone, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 7% annually to 1.54 million.

The year 2025 began with optimistic expectations of tour operators for a successful year, but they faded month by month, becoming clear at the beginning of the summer.

Specifically, at that time, operators emphasized that the increase in prices in some regions, the depreciation of the euro against the lek, as well as the basic problems that appeared mainly during the summer, were making Albania less attractive.

Although the Italians were present during the summer, they reduced the pace of visits in Kosovo, focusing mainly on the northern part of the country. Meanwhile, the lack of water in Golem, as well as the energy and waste issues in the southern part, became another reason for negative assessments.

Despite these developments, Albania managed to maintain a moderate growth as a result of the good performance of cultural tours during the spring and summer, something that was highlighted as positive by tour operators.

For this year, they have been more reserved in their predictions, underlining that the growth trend will be similar to the year we left behind, but there is a need for reflection and to take urgent measures to improve infrastructure and services so that this growth, although moderate, is sustainable, Monitor reported.

According to INSTAT, in December 2025, 714,457 Albanian citizens are counted as having left the territory of Albania, marking an increase of 10.6%, compared to December 2024. “The departures of foreign citizens from the territory of Albania during December 2025 are 638,680. Compared to the same period a year ago, this indicator has increased by 5.5%. In December 2025, 97% of the entries of foreign citizens in Albania were from the European region. Southern Europe accounts for 85% of the entries of foreign citizens from the European continent, followed by Western Europe with 6% and Northern Europe with 4%,” estimates INSTAT.

In 2024, foreign tourist arrivals to Albania increased by 15% compared to the previous year. The population of Albania was estimated at 2.4 million as of September 2023, INSTAT has said.