|Albania Table of Contents No serious consideration was given to
developing a tourism industry until several years after Enver
Hoxha's death. After 1989 the government viewed tourism as
offering one of the country's best chances to earn hard currency
relatively quickly. In 1989 and 1990, record numbers of tourists
visited Albania, although the totals themselves were
unimpressive. About 14,400 foreigners were permitted to enter
the country in 1989 and about 30,000 in 1990. Most of these
tourists, however, were single-day visitors on excursions from
the Greek island of Corfu. Albanian officials expected the
country's seacoast and mountains to draw significantly greater
numbers of visitors. But potential tourist areas, with the
possible exception of Tiranė, lacked even the most basic
amenities. Tiranė itself lacked hotel capacity, and there were
few foreign investors willing to risk funds on an Albanian
venture. Furthermore, the country's seacoast and mountains were
not sufficiently pristine to support predictio