For many couples, February 14th is not just a normal day on the calendar. While some make do with flowers and gifts or a dinner at a restaurant, other couples choose to stay out of the public eye. Here, the alternatives are more limited: traveling abroad or staying in hotels with winter pools or daily rental houses. In the absence of mass tourists due to the winter, the latter have become the most popular.
"Maybe it's related to the fact that Valentine's Day is more intimate, as long as it's a lovers' holiday. To be honest, there's been a significant increase in hotel and apartment bookings for daily rentals," Frenkli Prengaj from a daily rental apartment agency told A2 CNN.
Referring to the AirBNB platform, where mainly apartments for daily rent are listed, in Lëpushë and Theth or the Southern Riviera with the epicenter in Vlora, the accommodation capacities are almost completely occupied. Tirana, Durrës have also attracted many young couples.
"Daily rental apartments are mainly taken by those who live in the districts. There are also foreigners."
Because February 14 this year coincided with a working day, agencies claim that travel requests have not seen any significant increase.
"There is a normal upward trend, but mainly for domestic holidays. For trips abroad, there is almost no difference from normal days," said Ferjolt Ozuni, a tour operator for A2 CNN.
However, there have been many who have taken advantage of winter leave to escape abroad, even for a few days.
"The big favorite was Paris. There was also demand for Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, but also Milan and Rome in Italy. Istanbul is also on the list."
While for some Albanians, Valentine's Day is simply an ordinary, often expensive, non-traditional holiday, every year, in addition to flower sales businesses, it is giving a boost to the travel and accommodation industries. (A2 Televizion)
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