In 2025, Albania led Europe in the growth of overnight stays in tourist accommodation, recording an increase of 27% - far outpacing the EU average of 1.7%. Meanwhile, in Montenegro - Albania’s primary competitor - this indicator fell by 0.5%.

Malta saw the second-highest growth (+10.5%), according to data released today by Eurostat.

Nevertheless, Albania’s tourism intensity remains lower than the European Union average, even though the number of overnight stays in accommodation facilities has risen significantly.

According to Eurostat data for 2025, tourism intensity in Albania stands at approximately 4.1 overnight stays per inhabitant, compared to 7 in the European Union. Within the region, Montenegro’s intensity is roughly double that of Albania, while Croatia leads Europe with 24.5 overnight stays per inhabitant.

Tourism intensity is an indicator that measures the number of nights spent by tourists in accommodation facilities relative to a country’s resident population. It shows not only how many tourists visit a destination, but also how long they stay, providing a more comprehensive overview of recorded tourism activity.

According to Eurostat data, Albania recorded approximately 9.7 million overnight stays in accommodation establishments during 2025. Comparing this figure to a population of about 2.36 million at the beginning of the year, this amounts to roughly 4.1 overnight stays per inhabitant.

Despite the expansion of tourism activity, Albania remains far behind other Mediterranean countries, where tourism plays a much larger role relative to the population.

This disparity reflects not only the level of development within the tourism industry but also the duration of stays, available accommodation capacity, the methods used to record such activity, the extent of the informal sector, and the fact that a significant portion of arrivals consists of emigrants - many of whom hold Italian or Greek passports.

Some visitors entering Albania stay for only short periods, while others stay with relatives, in private residences, or in types of accommodation not fully captured by official statistics; furthermore, many of those arriving may be emigrants traveling on foreign passports. On the other hand, the market for daily apartment rentals is also largely informal. For this reason, an increase in the number of foreign nationals entering the country does not necessarily translate into a corresponding rise in registered overnight stays.

Seasonality also remains a significant characteristic of Albanian tourism. Activity is concentrated primarily during the summer months, especially in July and August. According to Eurostat’s monthly data series, approximately 2.26 million overnight stays were recorded in August 2025, compared to only about 226,000 in February.