TIRANA April 9 /ATA/ The second day of the meeting of the World Tourism Organization Commission for Europe, the “Conference on Investments in Tourism and the Economic Development of Europe and Albania” with a focus on investment promotion and the case of success stories and future perspectives in Albania started with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, the Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation Blendi Gonxhe, the Minister of State for Local Government Arbian Mazniku and the representative minister of the tourism industry from all over Europe.

The Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro said in the opening remarks that Albania has ushered in the era of investments in tourism adopting the non-negotiable approach of sustainable development.

Furthermore, Minister Kumbaro focused on the figures, data and fiscal incentives that create an enticing environment to invest in Albania.

“I am referring to the most recent publication by the “Standard & Poors” agency, which has improved the long-term rating of Albania’s sovereign credit to “B+”, emphasizing the improvement of the country’s fiscal position. Albania today is beginning to reap the fruits of a work started years ago, which included the legal framework we prepared which relieved the fiscal burdens on investments in tourism, where for all hotels, from the smallest ones, from guesthouses and agrotourism to high-end accommodation structures, the VAT was reduced to 6% from 20% that is applied to other businesses; Since we are at an investment conference, tourism is not just a matter of the number of visitors, but it is above all a matter of income and now this sector has become an industry, and we can say that. This is also measured by the income injected into the Albanian economy”, said Kumbaro

“Roughly 4.2 billion euros of income injected into the Albanian economy for 2023 due to tourism – 2.8 billion was this figure for 2022. These income trickled down to the entire business chain in the country”, said Kumbaro.

At the end of her speech, Kumbaro thanked the World Tourism Organization for a concrete output of this close cooperation with UNWTO partners, crafting for the first time a guideline for investments in the tourism sector in Albania.