Despite being in the midst of February, the first cruises have begun to anchor at the port of Durrës.
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"The Beauty of the Adriatic" touched the Albanian shores without tourists on board, solely for crew change.
"In Albania, it is easier to change Filipino crew than in Croatia and Greece, for example, because there they have a series of bureaucracies and require a series of documents and visas above all," said Leo Stanic for Euronews, captain of "La Belle de l'Adriatique."
The luxurious tourist vessel, 111 meters long and flying the Belgian flag, is the first to signal the start of a season expected to be successful.
"We expect to visit Durrës and Sarandë 3 times this year. On July 30th will be the first visit with tourists in Durrës and on September 24th, the last sailing. This year we will bring about 400 passengers to your country," said Leo Stanic, captain of "La Belle de l'Adriatique."
"They are mainly French, but this year we will have many Germans, we will have many tourists from the USA, Great Britain, and Spain as well," said manager Pedro Morreira.
From the port of Durrës, the captain of the "loyal" cruiser to the Albanian coast says that this year they will touch them less.
"Last year we came a little more, 8 times, but this time the company made changes, decided to stay a little longer in Greece. The itinerary we have is very beautiful, but now we are trying to attract younger tourists.
There are always changes, this year we come less to Albania, next year much more. This is to maintain balance, but of course also to respond to the demands of tourists," said Leo Stanic, captain of "La Belle de l'Adriatique."
In the past year, 22 cruise ships stopped at the port of Durrës, bringing thousands of tourists with them.
For the period January-December 2023, luxury tourist and pleasure vessels brought more than 1 billion new lekë to the state treasury, only for fuel supply.
As the first cruises of the season set sail, the anticipation for a bustling tourism year in Albania rises. With diverse nationalities ready to explore the beauty of the Adriatic coastline, the prospects for the tourism sector seem promising, heralding economic benefits and cultural exchanges for the country.