Tirana airport served 8,323,646 passengers in the first nine months of the year, up 55% compared to the same period of last year, the airport operator, TIA, said.
In September alone, passenger numbers rose 47% on the year, to 1,108,430, TIA said last week.
Wizz Air was passengers’ preferred airline in the period from January through September, holding 53.2% of the Albanian flight market, followed by Ryanair with 22.1%, and Air Albania with 3.7%.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Albania grew 17% to 9.7 million in the review period, tourism minister Mirela Kumbaro earlier this month. In 2023, Tirana airport welcomed 7.26 million passengers, 40% more than a year earlier.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Albania reached 1,146,090 in September, a 3.8% increase compared to the same month last year, the country’s statistics office said last week.
Despite high expectations that tourism would have a spring-like momentum during the fall, it seems that the September numbers have somewhat disappointed. Of course, the number of foreigners who have visited the country has increased compared to September of the previous year, but this figure is low. This is the second month with the lowest growth this year after July when growth was only 2.69%.
Tourists from southern Europe made the largest group, accounting for 65% of the total number of foreign tourists who visited Albania in September, INSTAT said in a monthly report.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Albania grew 17% in the year to 9.7 million in the first nine months of 2024.
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