Fiscal Asymmetry of Albanian Tourism

In 2025, tourism in Albania reached record levels, consolidating its position as the primary pillar of the national economy.
Me 12.46 million visitors, 7.14 million non-resident overnight stays (+37.9%) and €5.7 billion in tourist spending, the sector contributed approximately 26.4% of GDP (roughly €6.45 billion).
With over 270,000 employees across the tourism industry and related activities and an economic multiplier of 2.6–2.8×, tourism now plays a decisive role in economic growth and fiscal stability, generating €970m–1.23bn in budget revenues.
However, this performance is accompanied by a structural mismatch between sector growth and its fiscal capture. The short-term rental (STR) market, which accounts for approximately one-third of overnight stays, operates predominantly outside the formal system, with 70–80% of units informal, creating a sustained fiscal gap of €40–60 million per year. This gap tends to widen as tourism grows and supply digitalises.
The General Tax Directorate has addressed the sector through the Tourism Plan 2025, which represents an important step towards improving fiscal administration.
However, an analytical reassessment shows that the feasibility index reaches only 74/100, due to three main limitations: (i) heavy reliance on non-scalable manual controls, (ii) lack of digital economy and platform integration, and (iii) absence of a clear institutional operational model. These limitations make the plan effective at a tactical level but insufficient to address structural informality.
The optimal solution lies in adopting a reform based on the principles of DAC7 Directive, structured in three phases: mandatory platform reporting (2026), withholding tax (2027) and harmonisation with EU standards (2028+). This approach enables the transition from manual controls to automatic revenue capture.
The expected impact of the reform is considerable: +€25–40 million in additional revenue per year, 70–90% reduction of the fiscal gap, and formalisation of over 80% of the STR market. At the same time, competition between operators improves, transparency increases and administrative costs fall.
Ultimately, the main challenge of Albanian tourism is not growth alone, but above all the effective and equitable integration of that growth into the fiscal system