Audio-guided tours available for first time in Albania

BERAT, Nov.10- In partnership with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Monuments in Berat, the UNDP Eco and Cultural Tourism Support Program has launched self guided audio tours in Berat. This pilot project in the Museum-City of Berat was begun in May 2007 and completed with a ceremony in Berat’s Medieval Center, home to the offices of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Monuments.
The purpose of this project is to enhance the visitor experience with a new tourism product and also to create a new, low-level stream of income for the administrating bodies. Ten MP3 players have been purchased and are available for rent at a cost of 500 lek each for one day. Native-speaking professional actors narrate approximately one hour of information on historic Berat, including many of the city’s monuments, history, and local legends. A short video on Berat and samples of traditional songs are also included on the audio tour.
Visitors are given a map with the rental unit to help guide them around the city, and large numbered signs are placed at each monument that is described in the tour. Cost of admission to the castle and museums is not included in the rental price. Currently available in English, Italian and Albanian, the units can be rented from the Tourist Information Centre in Berat and the Cultural Monuments Office. As demand for more rental units increase, future tours may become available in French and German, with potential sales points at the new City Hall tourist information center, slated to be opened January 2008, and at the entrance to the castle.
UNDP’s Eco and Cultural
Tourism Support Program
UNDP’s Eco and Cultural Tourism Support Program was launched in April 2006 to provide direct support to the Government in implementing its December 2005 tourism strategy, “Strategy and Action Plan for the Development of the Albanian Tourism Sector Based on Cultural and Environmental Tourism”. Implemented in full partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, the primary objective of this program is to support the Government of Albania in achieving its development objectives through building a successful tourism sector based on cultural and environmental assets. The program supports the Ministry to strengthen its capacity to meet the challenges of modern tourism, and provides direct support in critical areas where the Ministry lacks human and other resources.