Putting the boot in: Why Italians are shunning the southern coast and heading to Albania

Italians frustrated by the cost of holidays in regions such as Puglia are opting for the cheaper shores of Vlora in Albania

It is all about Albania for many Italians this summer, including the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The PM left a farmhouse flanked by olive trees in Puglia and boarded a tourist-crammed ferry this week to Vlora, an Albanian city whose beaches rival those of the southern Italian region on the opposite side of the Adriatic.