Open Balkan opens up new opportunities: Albanian tourists interested in Serbian spas and mountains

In recent years, a significant number of visitors from Serbia have visited the Albanian coast, thanks in part to the Open Balkan initiative, which allows citizens of the three signatory countries to travel with just their ID card. However, according to interlocutors of Kosovo Online, there is growing interest from Albanian tourists in destinations in Serbia, particularly in its mountains and spas.
According to the Albanian Tourism Association, in the first three months of this year alone, Albania has seen a 60% increase in the number of foreign visitors compared to the same period last year.
Rahman Kasa, the director of the Albanian Tourist Association, stated in an interview with Kosovo Online that his organization had seen a growing number of tourists from Serbia year after year, including some who were purchasing properties on the Albanian coast.
"When it comes to Serbian tourists, statistics show that they mainly come to Albania during the summer and on their own arrangements. Last year, we had over 100,000 guests from Serbia in Durres, Vlore, Sarande, and Ksamil. This year, we expect that number to be higher, exceeding 125,000," Kasa said.
On the other hand, Albanian tourist agencies offer tours to Belgrade, but they mainly take overseas guests on tours of 10–20 days who want to visit several countries, including the Balkans when possible.
Jimmy Lama, the director of the Tirana-based TAB tourist agency, which offers such tours, says that there are many requests from tourists, especially from Asia, but they do not have enough time to stay in the region for long.
"We mainly work with groups from America, Australia, and Asia who want to see several countries when they come to the Balkans. We then organize visits to Serbia, which are usually short, and they stay one or two nights in Belgrade," Lama explained.
The only tourist agency in Tirana that takes Albanian tourists on organized visits to Serbia says that they have seen a growing interest in our country, especially in its mountains and spas, since the establishment of the Open Balkan initiative.
Besnik Vathi, the owner of the ATHS Tirana agency, said in an interview with Kosovo Online that Open Balkan had opened up new possibilities for them and had contributed to expanding their offerings. They currently only offer visits to Belgrade, but they plan to include Serbian spas and mountains and explore destinations and tourism opportunities along the Danube.
"We were and still are the only agency that started working with Yugoslavia, and now with Serbia, to take Albanian tourists to Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Belgrade. There was a break in the work in the late 1990s due to the war, and almost during the pandemic. Mostly, we organize visits to Belgrade as part of tours to other republics of the former Yugoslavia. Now that the Open Balkan initiative has facilitated the movement of Albanians, we are considering including other destinations, as well as winter and spa tourism in Serbia, which our citizens are very interested in," Vathi says.
The Tourism Organization of Serbia does not have an exact number of Albanian guests who visit our country, but they emphasize that they use every opportunity to promote Serbia as a tourist destination.
"The Open Balkan initiative is extremely important when it comes to tourism because it facilitates movement between our countries, exchange of tourists, and all other collaborations when it comes to economic relations," Marija Labovic, director of the Tourism Organization of Serbia, said for Kosovo Online.
Albanian tourism professionals also believe that the Open Balkans initiative will bring better results for tourism exchange among signatory countries, as the connection of Belgrade, Tirana, and Skopje makes the three countries easily accessible destinations for tourists from other continents.
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