Italians shun high prices at home for Balkan neighbour
Angela Giuffrida Rome · 19 Ago 2023
‘The lower prices here no doubt cast their spell, but I think it is more than just the prices’ Edi Rama Albanian prime minister
There are the rolling hills of Tuscany, the azure waters off the Amalfi coast or even the dramatic surrounds of Lake Como, so when the Italian prime minister was thinking about her summer getaway she wasn’t short of options. But this week Georgia Meloni was tempted away from the riches of the Italian mainland in favour of a destination that is fast becoming a favourite with her compatriots: neighbouring Albania.
anked by olive trees in Puglia and boarded a ferry to Vlora, an Albanian city on the opposite side of the Adriatic. The catalyst for her last-minute trip was the revelation that thousands of Italians have shunned the bel paese for the Balkan country this year, a trend that has displeased some Italian government officials. The Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama, fuelled the debate after bragging on social media about the “invasion” of almost half a million Italian tourists. He illustrated the point by comparing a photo of a packed ferry arriving in Albania with one of the Vlora, the cargo ship carrying an estimated 20,000 Albanian refugees who fled the country on 8 August 1991.
Rama extended an invitation to Meloni, who spent a few hours with her daughter and partner at his seaside home. “She came [off the ferry] with a big bunch of Italians who seemed very proud of their travel companion and were shouting as she disembarked,” said Rama. “Her first words were: ‘My, how beautiful this city is!’”
Italians and other European tourists are flocking to Albania, whose image has long been tainted by corruption and organised crime. They are attracted by the beaches and mountains, but they are mostly spellbound, as Rama concedes, by the country’s cheap cost. Italian holidaymakers have become increasingly irked this summer by extortionate prices. The average cost of renting two loungers and an umbrella for the day comes to between €35 (£30) and €50 a day in Puglia – substantially higher than in Albania where it is closer to €10.
Tourists have racked up big bills in Puglia after ordering the beachside staple spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams).
“The lower prices here no doubt cast their spell, but I think it is more than just the prices,” said Rama. “Albania has finally got rid of the horrible stigma of the 1990s that persecuted us for so many years.”
Among those venturing to Albania for the first time is Alessandro, 32, who lives in Bologna but grew up in Salento, at the tip of Italy’s boot. “We always like to visit different places and I really like eastern Europe, so the country itself is the first motive,” he said.
“The second is the price – it’s cheaper than Puglia, Sicily, Sardinia and Tuscany. They are all beautiful but all cost a lot more this year.”
While the number of foreign tourists in Italy has increased this year compared with 2022, domestic travel is down by up to 30%, according to figures this month from the tourism association Federturismo. Some Italians have renounced a holiday altogether because of the high cost of living. Demoskopia, a research institute, said the cost of a holiday in Italy had risen by an average of 9% compared with 2022.
Even as Albanians continue to leave their country, driven primarily by poverty and corruption, the country is attracting Spanish, British, Americans “and even Australians”, said Rama. He has focused heavily on tourism in recent years. New hotels have sprung up and an airport is due to open in Vlora next year. Albania is also becoming increasingly popular among young travellers for its party scene, with the Italian press comparing it to Rimini in the 1960s.
Francesco Lollobrigida, Italy’s agriculture minister and Meloni’s brother-in-law who holidayed with her in Puglia, said Albania could not compete with Italy. “Puglia is an excellence,” he told reporters. “Evidently there are countries on the Adriatic coast that aspire to welcome tourists in the same way … but what you find in Puglia cannot be found there.”
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, appeared to make a point of travelling from his usual northern holiday choice to Polignano a Mare, a popular beach spot in Puglia, to share a selfie with his girlfriend in which he declared: “Che meraviglia! (how wonderful).”
But Italians aren’t just holidaying in Albania: many are living there, attracted by the lower cost of living and lower taxes. “There are so many Italians here now we joke Albania is Italy’s 21st region,” said Amos Ballico, a tour operator for Discover Albania.
Some people found Rama’s post comparing Italian tourists with the Albanians who fled to Italy in the 1990s offensive. “The post was just a smile in our journey towards a brighter future,” he said. “Thirty years ago we were escaping hell. Nowadays Italians are showing up on our shores … invading Albania softly and sweetly.”