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Tourism, now the Germans are invading us? The ministry messes up visitor numbers
2024-05-14 08:10:31 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
After the "tourist invasion" of Albania by the Italians, it seems that it is the turn of the Germans.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, in January-March 2024, the number of visitors from Germany almost increased 10-fold compared to the same period a year ago.
Specifically, according to the data made public, in this period there were about 134 thousand German visitors, while a year ago 17.5 thousand.
No one can question the fact that Albania is experiencing a very good tourist year this year as well, which is a continuation of the trend of the previous two years, but are the Germans really invading us?
Actually, no! Chances are that this is a gross error by the department that processes and publishes data on visitors, which is obtained from the Institute of Statistics.
We say Trashanic mistake because it cannot be a slip when only Germany has a problem, which in fact has been given the number that belongs to Greece by repeating it. Publishing because of the formula that has been applied is all a big mistake.
For example, the number of visitors from Kosovo is reported to be 631 thousand in January-March and according to the Ministry, with an increase of 184% compared to the same period of 2023 when there were 433 thousand.
In fact, even with the naked eye, it is clear that this is not an almost 3 times higher increase, but only 46%. (if the increase would be 184%, then the entries in January-March 2023 should have been 222 thousand, not 433 thousand as written in the table).
North Macedonia is reported to have increased by 61%, while in the meantime it is only 33%. Poles report an increase of almost 9 times when in fact it is almost 6 times.
The data of INSTAT, in the publication of the movement of citizens, underlined that in the first three months of the year, foreign visitors were over 1.5 million, while the Ministry of Tourism, which again quotes INSTAT, reports 1.7 million, that is, with a difference of 200 thousand visitors over many in the count of the ministry.
For its part, INSTAT, although it has in its database the indicator of the entries of foreign citizens by country, has not populated it.
The year 2024, even as reported by the tour operators, is expected to be a better tourist year than the year we left behind, also as an effect of the contracts with guarantees that have been increasing and that are the first signal, but especially from the flow of individual tourists that have increased significantly .
The strategy of promotion in the international media but also the return of Albania to virality in social networks has given an extraordinary positive effect in increasing the interest to visit our country as a destination, but it seems that this moment that requires seriousness and careful policies is not being taken seriously .
The wrongly produced and interpreted figures on which policies, strategies and support measures are designed cannot be claimed to give the desired effect in the sector as you cannot expect to have an accurate result on wrong calculations.
Even earlier, these figures have been viewed with reservations due to crossings not counted correctly with Kosovo as we have free passage or those who use our country for transit, but the goal here is not to dim the shine of tourism, but to make the institutions aware of publishing with accountability figures that the media takes seriously and "takes" to the public as part of its mission.
"Scientific reporting of statistical data on the real number of tourists is not only a need to adapt our data according to the recommendations of the World Tourism Organization, but it is also a real understanding and reporting of growth and positive changes in the correct measure, avoid excessive and wrong flights in declarations about realizations or forecasts", said Besnik Vathi, Tourist Operator, in a previous article.
He adds that the analysis of the nationality of the entries is an extremely important characteristic for building the most accurate strategies to really help, not simply in increasing the number of entries, but of income.
"If the markets that generate tourists are correctly analyzed, central and local authorities will be better able to build more accurate policies that do not simply aim to increase numbers, but to protect the environment and, most importantly, to increase income and employment." / MONITOR
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