"2024, the year tourism was destroyed", Berisha: It turned into a curse for Albanians

Chief Democrat Sali Berisha has described 2024 as the year of the destruction of tourism, where he emphasized that tourism capacities in the country have suffered a reduction of 50 to 70%.

According to the chief democrat, published statistics show that Albanians do not have money to take vacations, because the Rama government has impoverished them and continues to impoverish them, forcing them to leave the country.

Berisha's full statement:

My friends, the emptying of Albania is the most hostile and destructive act for our nation than all wars, than all epidemics, than all invasions, the departure of about 40 percent of Albanian citizens from Albania.

Dear friends, we have repeatedly focused on the transformation of tourism into a curse for Albanian citizens.

This year marks the de facto destruction of tourism in Albania. Tourist capacities in the country have fallen from 50 to 70 percent. The big tourist companies, one after the other, have left Albania. The market has had some of the worst absurdities.

At a time when government propaganda sells the passengers of Rinas or the port of Durrës to Albanians as tourists, in the most deceptive, most shameful way, tourist capacities, hotels, sunbeds, umbrellas have been at a quarter or at most forty percent of their capacities since June. until today.

This is a very heavy blow for Albania, its economy and the Albanians, who have invested normally more than anywhere else in tourism.

Who from the depths of the Alps to Konispol, on all the shores of the seas and lakes, in all the mountains and valleys of the rivers, saw and see tourism as a light of hope for their economic recovery.

But what happened this year? The first and most important cause, my friends, is the extreme impoverishment of Albanians.

This is the underlying cause. 8 months ago, a study was published that showed that 60 percent of Albanians are unable to take vacations, go on vacations.

Friends, when I read that study, it reminded me of the time of the dictatorship, when at that time no more than 30-40 percent of citizens could go on vacation. Even less.

47 percent of Albanians who declare that they cannot provide adequate food for their children cannot go on vacation. Let's be realistic, the southern beaches were full of Tirana, this is the truth. And poverty excluded Albanians from this possibility.