Unlike last year, where not only the coast but also the capital was crowded with foreign tourists, their absence due to the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has put the tourism sector in great difficulty, Top Channel reported on Friday.

It seems that even tourist from Kosovo and return of Albanian national will not be able to compensate for the large losses of industry, which holds a significant weight in the country's economy.

The lack of foreign visitors is expected to cost the country about Euro 1.3 billion in revenue losses.

This is the assessment made by the president of the Association of Tour Operators Besnik Vathi. He said that the situation is dramatic for the future, while bookings for the autumn period have been canceled 100%.

"Tourism is on the verge of collapse. Losses are estimated at around Euro 1.2-1.3 billion, bookings are completely canceled for the autumn period. The inflow of visitors from Kosovo cannot recover the losses,” Vathi said.

The Covid-19 crisis has affected all links in the tourism industry chain, from accommodation facilities, premises to small retailers.

"We have felt a lot of lack of foreign tourists and emigrants. We are also facing difficulties in paying the obligations as there is no purchasing power to cover the expenses,” a seller said for the local media.

The difficult situation is also supported by official figures. According to the Institute of Statistics INSTAT, the number of foreign nationals who visited Albania in the first seven months of 2020 fell 65% year-on-year to 1.17 million.

Foreign nationals who visited Albania for the purpose of recreation in January-July totalled 1.07 million, down by 66%.

The largest number of foreign visitors came from Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Italy. Visitors from Spain decreased the most on an annual comparison basis in the first seven months of the year, by 89%.

In July alone, Albania was visited by 387,716 foreign nationals, down 67% year-on-year. Of the total, 368,702 came for recreational purposes, also down by 67% compared to July 2019.

Albania confirmed its first two coronavirus cases in early March. Later that month, the country closed its land borders and suspended all commercial flights in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

In 2019, total number of foreign visitors increased by 8.1% year-on-year to 6.41 million.