Travel within the Western Balkan countries remains a common practice for citizens of the region, according to data published by the Balkan Barometer 2025. The survey shows that the vast majority of respondents have traveled at least once to the region's economies in the last 12 months, reflecting strong economic, social and cultural ties between neighboring countries.
Albania ranks among the countries with the highest level of mobility, with 88% of respondents declaring that they have traveled once or several times within the Western Balkans in the last year. A small proportion, around 6%, report having traveled 4–10 times, while 5% have made more than 10 trips, indicating a significant level of turnover, especially for work, business or family reasons.
At the regional level, the average shows that 84% of citizens have traveled at least once, while a smaller percentage report more frequent trips. Kosovo records the highest percentage of citizens who have traveled at least once, with 93%, followed by Albania and Serbia. In contrast, North Macedonia (78%) and Montenegro (76%) register somewhat lower levels, but still remain above the three-quarters of the population threshold.
The data also shows that frequent travel, over four times a year, is more common in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, where a larger share of citizens report frequent movement within the region. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who have not traveled or who refused to answer remains minimal in all countries.
Overall, these figures confirm that the Western Balkans increasingly functions as an interconnected space of movement, where borders are seen less as barriers and more as bridges of cooperation. For Albania, the high level of regional travel reflects not only geographical proximity, but also the country's growing role in tourism, trade and cross-border exchanges. /Scan.al/
