Integrated Cross-Sectorial Plan of Tirana-Durres Area

EP6.3- City and weekend tourism
The vibrancy of the cities of Tirana and Durres
should be promoted in an integrated manner,
to create a multi-ethnic and diversified tourist
offer. The aim is to develop the weekend
tourism climate, by combining several
potential tourism typologies and facilities
accommodated near the urban, rural and
natural poles. The plan encourages and
seeks to harmonize the interaction of natural,
cultural and recreational tours, serving as
a core platform for building diverse tourist
packages and for all age groups.
The presence of international entry gates
in the region, enables the attraction of two
massive flows in this tourism typology:
• Attracting international tourists - quick
access through the port and the airport. The
aim is to develop regional branded packages
that provide low transportation costs and
diverse accommodation opportunities;
• Attracting domestic tourists - multiple
efficient and quality choice options, organized
in mix service packages.
The Plan supports:
• the development of absorbing / attracting
poles with complementary functions serving
to the economy and tourism, aiming at the
connection of geographical, physical, human
and cultural potentials;
• the regeneration of cultural-historical assets
accompanied by tourist services and guides;
• the creation of spatial conditions for services
in function of holiday destinations;
• the development of physical (of tourism
poles) and virtual links for quick access to the
global market;
• the interconnection of tours / guides in
natural territories with centralized services in
urban and rural centres;
• the development of unique destinations for
cultural and nightlife events.
The table below presents the weekend tourism
development poles, while the following provide
some guidance on them:
• Creating recreational and entertainment
poles; The aim is to solidify and interconnect
tourism packages that create economies of
scale and a critical mass for tourism services.
Tourist areas and poles must first be equipped
with infrastructure, enabling rapid access and
multimodality in transport. These areas need
to be supported with tourism services, as well
as massive parking lots to cope with tourist
flows. The urban centres Tirana, Durres,
Shijak, Vore, Kamez, need to regenerate or
revitalize poles in service of tourism, based
on the typologies set out in table 4.5. These
poles should promote the development of
interconnected events, combining those of
nature, agri-tourism, recreation, culture
and heritage. Event organization should be
supported with service infrastructure and
marketing platforms;
• Stadiums, fair centres and areas of mass
events should be equipped with all the service
infrastructure, interconnected with multimodal
transport, parking areas and security services;
• Sites of youthful, artistic and creative
character promoting culture and art should
be revitalized in two directions: regeneration
of buildings, squares and infrastructure, as
well as the development of human resource
capacities, to provide services focusing
on culture, art and tradition. For example,
“creative neighborhoods” promoting the
spread of culture through music, painting,
poetry and applied arts, should be established
in cooperation with local human capacity
building.
Other assets affected by this development
are the regeneration of historic buildings
with architectural values. These structures
should be made available to tourist services,
as museum centres, hotels, cultural sites, etc.
The regeneration of historic neighborhoods
with architectural values should serve to the
establishment of creative neighborhoods,
areas for promoting crafts and areas serving to
culture and heritage. Their establishment and
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