The World Bank said it approved $71 million (66.4 million euro) financing for an integrated urban and tourism development project in Albania.
The project will support the economic development of Southern Albania, well-known as a tourism destination, by improving urban infrastructure and enhancing tourism assets, the World Bank said in a press release on Tuesday.
The project includes two UNESCO cultural sites, Gjirokastra and Berat, as well as Saranda, a tourism gateway for the region, and Permet that links the South Albania tourism circuit with the heart of the Balkans. The project includes urban upgrading and infrastructure improvement, tourism sites upgrading, heritage and cultural sites’ restoration, and tourism market and product development.
"The project investments will make the four municipalities more attractive for visitors and private investors, and increase opportunities for people to generate income," Paula Restrepo and Shaun Mann, World Bank Project Leaders, said in the statement. "The whole country will benefit from increased tourism spending, job creation, and enhanced institutional capacity of local government and other agencies."
Tourism accounts for one fifth of economic activity and job creation in Albania. Currently it supports 50,000 jobs, a number which is expected to grow to 200,000 by 2025, the World Bank said.
The south of Albania is visited by some 300,000 tourists annually.
($ = 0.9347 euro)