TIRANA (Albania), May 25 (SeeNews) – The number of foreign tourists who visited Albania in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 12% on the year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said.
The 2018 tourism season will have an important impact on the economy, Rama said in a video file posted on its official Facebook page on Thursday, following a presentation of the government's initiative Smile Albania in support of the country's tourism and hospitality industry.
Albania continues to attract an increasing number of foreign tourists from Europe, the region and beyond, Rama said, adding that the country was visited by a record five million tourists last year.
The number of tourists and the direct impact in the economy will further increase based on data received from all travel agencies operating in the country, Rama said.
The number of foreign nationals who visited Albania in the first four months of 2018 increased by 7% year-on-year to 1.03 million, the country's statistical office, INSTAT, said on Wednesday.