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Albania
Tourism
No serious consideration was given to developing a tourism industry
until several years after Enver Hoxha's death. After 1989 the
government viewed tourism as offering one of the country's best
chances to earn hard currency relatively quickly. In 1989 and
1990, record numbers of tourists visited Albania, although the
totals themselves were unimpressive. About 14,400 foreigners were
permitted to enter the country in 1989 and about 30,000 in 1990.
Most of these tourists, however, were single-day visitors on excursions
from the Greek island of Corfu. Albanian officials expected the
country's seacoast and mountains to draw significantly greater
numbers of visitors. But potential tourist areas, with the possible
exception of Tiranė, lacked even the most basic amenities. Tiranė
itself lacked hotel capacity, and there were few foreign investors
willing to risk funds on an Albanian venture. Furthermore, the
country's seacoast and mountains were not sufficiently pristine
to support predictions of a coming boom in tourism.
Data as of April 1992
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