Albanians had spent about 30 million euros (US$38.4 million) on their summer holidays abroad, local media reported on Tuesday.

Official figures show that about 25,000 Albanian vacationers had gone abroad for their summer holidays in the last two months, each spending some 1,200 euros (US$1,536) on average.

The figures didn't include those who spent their holidays through self-organized trips instead of registered travel agencies.

As many as 92 tourist agencies operate in Albania, offering travel packages starting from 400 euros (US$512) per person to prices many times that figure.

Albanians had mainly chosen Turkey, Egypt, Montenegro and Spain as their destinations, with Turkey ranking top for its beautiful beaches, tourist agencies said.

Analysts said that Albanians ignored their own mountains and beaches in favor of foreign ones because of poor local infrastructure and high prices compared with tourist sites in other European countries.

Albania, with a population of over 3 million, is one of the poorest countries in Europe. According to a report by the United Nations Development Program, more than a quarter of its people live below the poverty line, surviving on less than two dollars per day.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2006)