Kosovo is known as a country with great potential for tourism development and the resources available for winter tourism. Although Kosovo has attractive places for foreign visitors, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the decline of foreign tourists. Tourists from Albania continue to be loyal to Kosovo. According to the data of the Tourism Union, during the winter over 100 thousand citizens from Albania come to Kosovo and spend about 20 million euros.
The President of the Tourism Union of Kosovo, Baki Hoti says that the number of tourists visiting Kosovo is not satisfactory.
“If we make comparisons between 2020 and 2021, we have a significant increase due to the fact that 2020 was almost completely closed due to the measures imposed by the institutions. But, at the moment when there was a slight release of measures, there was an influx of visitors not only from Albania, but also from other countries. Is this satisfactory? No it is not, but in relation to 2020 there have been positive movements. Meanwhile, if we compare 2021 with 2019 there is an extremely large decrease, there is around 70 percent decrease compared to 2019. Normally, the pandemic took affected not only Kosovo, but all countries of the world “, He emphasizes.
Apart from other countries, our country has a large number of tourists from Albania.
The President of the Tourism Union of Albania, Rrahman Kasa says for KosovaPress that about 100 thousand tourists from Albania visit Kosovo during the winter season, who as he says, spend about 20 million euros.
“Let’s start with Kosovo, from the statistics we have, during the winter season over 100 thousand citizens from the Republic of Albania come to Kosovo. They mainly visit winter resorts which Kosovo has much more organized than Albania. However, now I do not know how much is the real figure consumed by the number we have, but if we refer to statistics, about 20 million euros come from Albania to Kosovo during the winter season. But during the two weeks that the drastic measures at the border were in force, the traffic was almost zero, but still the pandemic has affected tourism as before, and has brought great damage to tourism,” he said.
Mayor Kasa said that Kosovo is a place sought by the citizens of Albania because of the attractive areas with snow.
“Kosovo has some ski slopes, there are places that stay covered with snow for a long time, which in Albania there are only few places, and those places are not accessible due to infrastructure, while Kosovo is better, especially during the winter season, many Albanian citizens come to Kosovo”, he says.
Kosovo does not yet have a Law on Tourism, although the draft law on this sector was approved days ago in principle in the Committee on Economy.
The President of the Union of Tourists of Kosovo, Baki Hoti, requesting that the Law on Tourism be voted as soon as possible by the Assembly, he says that this law, in addition to being necessary, must also be functional.
“It was necessary for Kosovo and the tourism sector to have the law because we will rely on something. This is what it needs and it definitely should have had it a long time ago. I think we have done the best possible during the drafting, I believe that this law will be functional and for the benefit of the whole community and the entire tourism sector “, says Hoti.
While the Draft Law on Tourism was approved in the first reading in the Committee on Economy, the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, emphasized that the Law on Tourism aims to establish the legal basis for the development of competitive tourism.
“The law on tourism aims to establish the legal basis for the development of competitive and sustainable tourism in the Republic of Kosovo, using natural, cultural, human and financial resources. It is also in line with European Union legislation and contemporary standards … We are also working on the strategy for tourism and I believe that this law will also help in the implementation of the annual plans for tourism. Therefore, I call on you to support this draft law, because it is of special importance and national interest,” she said.
The most frequented places in Kosovo by foreign visitors remain mountainous places, like the mountains of Rugova, Boga, Sharr, and Brezovica. The focus also remains on cultural tourism in the capital, Prishtina.
