June 22 (SeeNews) - The number of foreign nationals who visited Albania in the first five months of the year rose by 9.5% to 1.32 million, the statistical office, INSTAT, said on Thursday.
Foreign nationals who visited Albania for the purpose of recreation represented 27.8% of all international visitors, or 366,919, INSTAT said.
By comparison, 132,729 foreign nationals visited Albania for recreational purposes in January-May 2016, or 11% of the total number of foreign visitors, INSTAT said citing data from the state police directorate.
Details follow:
|
Jan-May'17 |
Jan-May'16 |
Total foreign visitors to Albania |
1,321,474 |
1,206,334 |
Personal purpose |
1,296,478 |
1,185,778 |
- recreation, vacation |
366,919 |
132,729 |
- visiting relatives |
4,254 |
5,298 |
- one-day visits |
26,293 |
135,592 |
- medical treatment |
244 |
297 |
- religious purpose |
239 |
431 |
- other |
837,918 |
856,980 |
- transit |
60,611 |
54,451 |
Business and professional trips |
24,996 |
20,556 |
In May alone, Albania was visited by 360,082 foreign nationals, up 0.4% year-on-year. Out of the total, 132,140 came to Albania for recreational purposes.
The largest part of international visitors in May, or 29.3%, came from Kosovo, followed by Macedonia with 13.6% and Montenegro with 10.1%.
Most of the foreign visitors entered Albania by land - 79.7%, 13.5% arrived by air and 6.8% arrived by sea.