Tourism in the Balkans is enjoying a strong comeback, approaching record levels of 2019 after travel restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. Here is how some Balkan countries are facing the challenge of the 2022 tourist season:
Türkiye
We are currently witnessing a real tourism boom, with sector revenues almost tripling in the second quarter and the number of foreign tourists in January-June close to 2019 levels. This practically means a comeback after the decline caused by the pandemic and a return to foreign liquidity. Beach resorts on the shores of the Aegean and Mediterranean are overflowing, and huge numbers of tourists are flocking to Istanbul (more than 1.47 million in June alone), as well as to Cappadocia and central Turkey . On the other hand, the border town of Edirne is visited by many Bulgarians and Greeks, but mainly for shopping.
The decline of the Turkish lira against the dollar has also helped make the country a cheap destination for foreigners. This is not the case for locals, however, who must look for cheaper accommodation through platforms like Airbnb instead of booking into luxury hotels in Aegean resorts.
More than 16 million tourists visited Turkey between January and June 2022, up 186% year-on-year, or $8.72 billion, the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said. Most of them came from Germany, followed by Russia and finally Great Britain. Bulgaria is in fifth place.
Turkey plans to welcome 42 million tourists this year and the sector’s revenue is expected to reach $35 billion, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said.
Following a decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued in July, Bulgarian nationals can enter Turkey with just an identity card when transiting through Turkey or undertaking a tourist visit of up to 90 days in a period of 180 days. Today, even more Bulgarian tourists are crossing the border, including large groups to go shopping in Edirne.
In just one month, this attracted traders from neighboring provinces like Istanbul and Kirklareli, and increased office rents from 2,700 euros to 8,800 euros for the same premises.
Greece
Enjoying a much better season than expected, with revenues expected to help cushion rising energy prices. Tourism revenues could reach 80-90% of 2019’s record values, Reuters cited government and industry officials as saying. In 2019, 32 million tourists generated a turnover of some 18 billion euros, recalls the agency.
The absence of Russian and Ukrainian tourists was felt by the sector in northern Greece, but was replaced by visitors mainly from the Balkans, Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias said on national ERT television. Efforts to extend the season and develop cruise tourism have also contributed to these good results, such as the port of Thessaloniki with an increase in the number of cruise ships by 280%.
July saw 900,000 weekly arrivals in Greece and this number is expected to exceed 1.0 million, Kikilias said. Tourists from the United States, Austria and Israel all exceeded pre-pandemic figures.
Croatia
The country relies on tourism for around 20% of its GDP and has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. In January-July, the country welcomed 10.3 million tourists who recorded 54.3 million overnight stays – respective increases of 60% and 46% year-on-year, but still just below the record levels of 2019.
Most tourists came from Germany, Slovenia and Austria. The most visited sites were Rovinj, Dubrovnik, Porec, Split and Umag.
Minister of Tourism and Sport Nikolina Brnjac expects August to yield its best annual results. There is no doubt that the recent unveiling of the Peljesac Bridge will contribute to this. The bridge spans the sea canal between Komarna, in the north of the continent, and the Peljesac peninsula, thus crossing entirely Croatian territory and avoiding any crossing of the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina at Neum.
Montenegro
In turn, around 25% of its GDP comes from tourism. The country, which has some 605,000 inhabitants, welcomed 351,000 foreign tourists in the first half of 2022, or 148.6% more than according to national statistics. They spent an average of 3.6 nights.
Most tourists came from Serbia, Germany, Albania, France and Great Britain, among others.
Even though the Russian and Ukrainian markets have been lost, a good strategy and new markets compensate and the sector is doing very well, Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said in early August. Tourism Minister Goran Djurovic indicated at the end of July that 171,300 people were currently staying, 2.44% more than the same period in 2021. He added that the country had reached almost 90% of the number of visits in 2019.
Albania
Is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination all year round, offering everything from seaside to adventure and winter sports. Additionally, the country is home to many cultural monuments and archaeological parks where special tours are offered.
This year’s season looks set to be successful, with a large number of foreign tourists. More than 2.5 million foreigners visited Albania between January and June, 51.3% more than in the same period of 2021, the Albanian Statistics Institute said. In June alone, 876,056 foreign tourists arrived, an increase of 45% year-on-year.
During the same period, visitors to cultural sites doubled compared to last year, with 213,519 visitors compared to the 106,534 recorded in 2021, said Culture Minister Elva Margariti.
Tourism accounts for approximately 27% of the country’s GDP and is an important source of income for the country. Nearly 5.5 million foreign tourists visited in 2021 and 6.41 million before the pandemic in 2019, generating revenue of $2.46 billion.
Cyprus
Tourism is thriving, recording 1.2 million visitors, five times the 2021 number under COVID-19 restrictions. British tourists made up almost two-fifths, followed by Israelis, then Poles, Germans and Greeks.
In the first half of 2022, the island reached 75% of the visitors recorded in the 2019 record, said the president of the Association of Cyprus Tourism Businesses, Akis Vavlitis, adding that taking into account the circumstances (of loss of Russian tourists and Ukrainians), the success was good.
In 2019, a fifth of foreign tourists were Russian, putting the market in Cyprus second behind the British. Last year, this share reached more than 25%, the Cyprus Mail reported.
The tourism and travel sectors contribute the most to the country’s economy, with a share of 22.7% of GDP for 2019, or an amount of 20.9 billion euros.
Romania
Is no different from other Balkan countries. While tourism accounted for 5.3% of the country’s GDP before the pandemic in 2019, Romania recorded 10.2 million foreign tourists and 2.7 million domestic tourists. In 2021, that number fell to 8.4 million domestic tourists and just 840,000 foreign tourists, Tourism Minister Daniel Cadariu said.
This year, Romanians are taking full advantage of the lifting of restrictions. However, popular destinations on Romania’s Black Sea coast, from Mamaia to Constanta, are now experiencing the weakest season in 30 years and a 30% drop in booking demand compared to 2021. The long lines of cars that once formed along the Romanian Black Sea coast, The road from Bucharest to Constanta moved towards the border with Bulgaria.
The influx of tourists from the coast, especially from the northern part, is partly due to questionable decisions of local authorities, such as paid parking at 100 RON (40 BGN)/day in Mamaia and Constanta. This goes hand in hand with high prices, chaotic construction, dirty beaches and the absence of gardens, visitors complain.
So, Romanians prefer either their own resorts in the south of Eforie or the Neptune-Olympus area, or Bulgaria, especially at half price in September.
Commenting on the situation, the general secretary of the Federation of Employers of the Hospitality Industry, Corina Martin, described Romanian tourism as the Cinderella of the national economy, neglected for years by the state which did not invest a single euro in an advertising campaign. unlike Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Serbia
Tries to attract visitors with urban, spa and mountain tourism. The sector accounts for approximately 7.0% of the country’s GDP, including investments and supply chains.
Compared to 2021, tourist visits in the first half increased by 65.4%, the number of foreign tourists by 135.7% and that of domestic tourists by 35.8% year-on-year.
Most tourists come from Bosnia, Russia and North Macedonia.
Spa tourism increased by 35.4% and mountain tourism by 36.4%, in both cases mainly thanks to foreign tourists.
The most visited places were Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica and Nis; Spa centers in Vrnjacka Banja and Sokobanja and mountain resorts in Zlatibor, Kopaonik, Divcibare, Tara and Fruska Gora.
Bosnia Herzegovina
Count on attracting tourists from UAE and Saudi Arabia this year. Both countries are among the ten largest tourist markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where around half the population is Muslim.
A total of 98,000 tourists from the UAE and Saudi Arabia visited the country in 2019 and 8.5% of all tourists to the country in 2021 came from the two Arab states.
However, the most visitors come from the neighboring countries of Serbia and Croatia, as well as Turkey. German, Slovenian, American, Polish and French nationals are also interested.
Tourist visits between January and June increased by almost 70% year-on-year, the FENA agency said. In total, 594,485 tourist visits were recorded, as well as 1,295,674 overnight stays, an increase of 68.3% compared to 2021.
Before the pandemic, in 2019, tourist visits in January-June amounted to 713,745 and overnight stays to 1,454,904. The country was visited by 1.20 million people and tourism income amounted to 1 .23 billion dollars. Tourism represented 12% of the country’s economy.
(Nora Cholakova, Petar Kadrev, Sofia Angelova, Mina Dimitrova and Sofia Georgieva contributed to this story)
