Polish tourists who are flying to Albania by charter since mid-May constitute the main group of organized tourism that is frequenting the Albanian coast.
But a recent decision being discussed in the Polish government could penalize those who want to visit Albania. Representatives of Polish companies in Albania told “Monitor” that this is not something that is directly related to Albania but that it affects it if it is implemented.
“The decision has not been approved yet and remains pending. This decision provides for a 10-day quarantine if you return to Poland from a non-Schengen country. It is always about people who have not yet been vaccinated. However, the decision stipulates that if the same individuals perform a test for COVID after 7 days in quarantine and it is negative then there is no need to continue to maintain quarantine, “said these representatives.
The decision of the Polish government began to be discussed as an effect of increasing cases of those who have been infected with the Delta variant of the virus. The Ministry of Health in this country confirmed that the cases with this variant were still not numerous but the imposition of these measures is done to avoid rapid growth.
The magnitude of the impact of this decision of the Polish government that has not yet entered into force remains unclear for the Albanian operators themselves as currently the tourist season is ongoing and reservations have been made while it may act as a deterrent for those who have not yet perform one. Representatives of hotel structures in the country said that this will certainly not serve positively domestic tourism. In a case like this according to Albanian tour operators it should be the government which should lobby to create access for Albania which currently has a low risk for the spread of COVID-19 to be dealt with separately by an agreement.
The latest data on the movement of citizens in the country show that in January-March one of the countries with the highest inflows, was Poland 4.5 times more than in the same period a year ago. In May alone, 4,701 Polish citizens entered our country, while tour operators have confirmed that there are at least over 20 charters per week coming for organized tourism, mainly concentrated in Durrës.
