CORONAVIRUS IMPACT ON THE TOURIST SECTOR IN ALBANIA

Abstract: Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the economy. According to a study conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (2019) in 185 countries around the world, tourism represented 10.4% of global GDP; 10% of employment, 6.5% of global exports and contributed 3.9% of global growth in 2018. Tourism is also a priority for the Albanian economy, overall contribution of tourism to the country's economy for 2019 is estimated at around 14.3% of GDP. Employees in this sector for 2019 reached about 100 thousand, with an increase of 26% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. According to some INSTAT projections (2018), in 2025 employees in this sector will reach 220 thousand or about 20.4% of total employment, with an average increase of 2% per year. However, with the spread of Covid19 in the country, the tourism industry will have a resizing, the negative impact on this sector will be high. UNWTO estimates that tourism could decrease by 20-30% by 2020, which in monetary terms is a loss of $ 300 billion to $ 450 billion. This decline in this sector is higher than in 2003 caused by the SARS virus or in 2009 by the global economic and financial crisis. Our goal in this document, based on the above facts, is to study the impact that Covid19 has on Albanian tourism sector. In order to carry out the study in question, we will analyze the tourism sector in Albania and the complementary activities related to it. As a methodology for conducting the study will use descriptive statistics and statistical projections. The results expected from this study suggest that also in Albania the 2 main sectors this pandemic will damage the most are: tourism and transport. This decline will be only in the short term as a positive upward trend is expected by the third quarter and on. This study will be organized as follows: a brief introduction; a paragraph on the review of literature and various opinions on tourism, a synthetic methodology, a statistical analysis, closing and some final conclusions.