Kosovo is becoming an attractive place for foreign tourists, especially Prishtina. In the last year, the number of visitors from different countries of the world to Kosovo has increased by about 90 percent.

During 2023, the number of domestic and foreign visitors’ online stays was 1 million 523 thousand or 86 percent increase compared to 2022.

The capital city records the largest number of visitors according to the data of the Statistics Agency of Kosovo (ASK), sourced from accommodation structures. While the largest number of nights of stay by visitors was recorded by Peja with 678,899 night-stays.

The tourist from Japan who has been visiting Prishtina these days, Charles emphasizes to KosovaPress that Kosovo has beautiful places and the people here are friendly.

Also, another tourist points out that a friend of his recommended Kosovo to him and then he came to visit. He adds that Kosovo is beautiful with very loving and friendly people.

According to the Tourism Union, institutions play a major role in the promotion of our country because they should allocate more budget and prioritize tourism. For this reason, the union appealed to the institutions to increase the fund for tourism because it is one of the main pillars of the economy and employment of this country.

The head of the tourism union, Baki Hoti, tells KosovaPress that a visitor to stay 24 hours is expected to spend about 150 euros on average, including accommodation, food and other things. According to him, the more visitors, the more and positive the income will be in businesses and in the state.

Meanwhile, from the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, they tell KosovaPress that soon the Republic of Kosovo will have its official tourism logo and slogan, since tourism is intended to be developed through these symbols in the coming years. Likewise, according to the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade(MIET), not only as an enormous force for employment and economic development, but also as an opportunity to build an image of the youngest state in Europe, which promotes the unique values of Kosovo.

According to this ministry, Kosovo will also be promoted through international fairs, where tourist operators participate, with support from MIET/KIESA, who promote and sell tourist offers for Kosovo, through the Tourism Registry, as an electronic platform that provides information for entities that operate in the field of tourism in the Republic of Kosovo, through digital platforms, ‘Fam Trips’ and other similar ones.

The third edition of the International Tourism Fair, “Kosova 2024” will be held on April 12-13, where there will be over 300 exhibiting companies that will present their products from 15 European countries.

/k.s/