In October the coastal season feels a long way off. For goods coming from China it is not. If you want new sunbeds, parasols, room textiles or restaurant equipment in place for May 2027, the decisions that matter are made in autumn 2026. This guide works backwards from the day you open to the day you have to place the order.
Two calendars you should keep apart
The first calendar is your permit or contract: when you are allowed to operate on the beach. The second is your order: when the goods must be ready in China to arrive on time. The first depends on the state and on your contract. The second depends on the factory, the Chinese holidays and the sea voyage.
Albania: Decision 649/2024
Albania's current beach-station rules are Council of Ministers Decision No. 649 of 16 October 2024, which repealed Decision 171/2019. The consolidated text on the official publications portal includes amendments from 2025 and from 28 January and 13 May 2026.
- Article 7(14): beach stations operate from 1 May to 15 November each year.
- Model contract, Article 3: the right of use covers at least 1 May to 15 October each year.
- Article 7(13): beach space contracts run for 1 to 5 years.
For the 2026 season, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport took applications on e-Albania from 23 February to 15 March 2026. Those are 2026 dates. As of 3 October 2026 the 2027 call had not been published, so do not treat them as the 2027 dates. A new applicant may only get a decision after the order in China has to be placed, so decide what you are willing to order before the permit and what waits.
Montenegro: Morsko dobro
On the Montenegrin coast, beaches are leased by the public enterprise Morsko dobro. Its published beach contract template provides for beach furniture rental from 1 May to 31 October and obliges the tenant to have the beach organised and operating by 1 May each year. Contracts under public call No. 0206-1374/1, published on 10 March 2026, run until 31 December 2028. The template is not your signed contract, so check your own document. A tenant with a contract to 2028 knows the May deadline every year and can plan the purchase early.
On both coasts, then, May is when the beach has to be ready.
The season is not only August
Official statistics show business before and after the peak:
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| Source | Month | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| INSTAT, Albania | April 2025 | 92,778 visitors in accommodation establishments in the coastal area; national hotel room occupancy 22.4% |
| INSTAT, Albania | August 2025 | 692,654 visitors in the coastal area; national hotel room occupancy 61.5% |
| MONSTAT, Montenegro | May 2025 | 433,600 overnight stays in collective accommodation in seaside resorts |
| MONSTAT, Montenegro | August 2025 | 982,235 overnight stays in seaside resorts |
| MONSTAT, Montenegro | September 2025 | 616,422 overnight stays in seaside resorts |
The two countries measure different things, so do not compare the rows with each other. MONSTAT's seaside resorts are Bar, Budva, Kotor, Tivat, Ulcinj and Herceg Novi, and its collective accommodation excludes private rentals. None of these figures tells you how many sunbeds or towels you need. They do show guests arriving in May and staying into September, so equipment that lands in July misses part of the season.
Working back from 1 May
Once the goods are ready in China, allow 60 to 75 days via Suez or 70 to 90 days around Africa. Transit times are approximate. We confirm the exact time and route for each shipment, based on the current situation on the sea lanes. Production comes before this period. Ask in the quote where the period ends: at the customs warehouse or at your address.
Assumptions: the beach or hotel must be ready on 1 May 2027, and we take the long end of each range.
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| Route | Days after the goods are ready | Goods ready in China at the latest |
|---|---|---|
| Via Suez | 75 | 15 February 2027 |
| Around Africa | 90 | 31 January 2027 |
These dates leave no time for your forwarder's clearance, unloading, assembling sunbeds or washing textiles. If you want everything on site by mid-April, the China date moves to mid or late January.
Now look at the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year 2027 falls on 6 February. Plan for production to slow around the holiday, and get the closing and restart dates from your own supplier. China's official 2027 holiday schedule had not been published by 3 October 2026. For 2026, the State Council General Office published it on 4 November 2025, with a break from 15 to 23 February. The practical result: for a May opening, the goods have to come off the production line before the holiday, around the end of January. More on the holiday: Chinese New Year 2027 and shipping.
Month by month
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| Month | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | Item list, quantities, dimensions, colours, materials. What survived the 2026 season and what needs replacing. | You |
| October to November 2026 | Factory offers, samples, written approval of specifications. Production time in writing. | You, the supplier, our agent |
| November to December 2026 | Order and deposit, timed to the supplier's production time. Production starts. | You and the supplier |
| December 2026 to January 2027 | Production, collection in our warehouse if the goods are consolidated, checks, photo and video report, loading. | Supplier and us |
| End of January 2027 | Goods ready and shipped before Chinese New Year (6 February). | Us |
| February to April 2027 | Sea freight within the range above. | Us |
| April 2027 | Goods arrive at the customs warehouse. | Us |
| April 2027 | Clearance, duty and VAT. | Your forwarder |
| April 2027 | Unloading, assembly, damage check. | You |
| 1 May 2027 | Beach or hotel ready. | You |
If you order after the holiday and the goods are ready in March, the ranges above put arrival somewhere between late April and late June. That is too late for a May opening, but it can cover a top-up before July and August.
What buyers usually put on the list
A hotel or beach list usually includes items like these:
- sunbeds, parasols and parasol bases;
- outdoor tables and chairs, cushions, covers;
- towels, bed linen and other room textiles;
- bathroom and room supplies, kitchen and bar items;
- LED lighting for terraces and outdoor areas.
For each item we need the quantity, dimensions, material, colour, a photo or sample and the date you need it. Beach furniture takes a lot of space, so carton dimensions, weight and the type of goods decide whether they go as a full container or a shared one. There is no fixed CBM switch point. A full container leaves from the Chinese port nearest the goods. Shared (LCL) cargo comes into our warehouse and ships from Ningbo. The difference is explained in LCL or FCL.
Sourcing agent or Yiwu trip
Remote sourcing suits specific products with clear specifications. If you know you need 200 aluminium sunbeds in an exact size and colour, our sourcing agent collects and compares factory offers.
For 100 different small items, such as textiles, room supplies and bar items, a Yiwu buying trip makes more sense. The trip includes a personal market agent, orders from multiple suppliers, a record of every item's supplier, product, quantity, price and specifications, one consolidated order file for your approval before shipment, collection in our Yiwu warehouse and checks of quantity, condition and specifications against the order. Items not found in the market are sourced across China.
Avoid buying trips around Chinese New Year and from 1 to 8 October for China's National Day holiday. For the 2027 season that leaves late October and November, so the orders go in on time.
Checks, ports and customs
In our warehouse in China we collect goods from several suppliers and check them. We document every check before loading with photos and video. A wrong colour or crushed cartons are better found in China than on the beach in April. See quality checks and our warehouse.
We have a direct presence in Thessaloniki, Durres and Bar, with annual shipping contracts. The port and route for your shipment are confirmed in the quote. Country details: shipping from China to Albania and shipping from China to Montenegro.
We deliver to the customs warehouse and prepare export documents and documents needed for clearance. Your own or a recommended forwarder handles clearance, duty and VAT. Many clients already have their own forwarder. Your forwarder confirms the duty for your goods.
Albanian clients communicate with our team in English or Macedonian. A spreadsheet with photos and dimensions keeps things clear for everyone.
Next step
- Enter your carton dimensions and quantities in the CBM calculator to see how much space your list takes.
- Read the page for your country: Albania or Montenegro.
- Send us the item list, quantities, any carton data you have and your opening date through the contact form. Add the gross weight and the type of goods so we can agree the right transport type.
