TIRANA, Nov. 12 – More than 8,000 tourists visited Albania last summer in cruise and sailing ships arriving at Durres Port, up 44 percent compared to summer 2014, making the country’s biggest port as an emerging destination for cruise tourism. Authorities say the Durres Port was visited by 12 cruise and sailing ships bringing more than 8,200 tourists to Durres and Albania’s historic cities as part of their Mediterranean tours.
Thomson Majesty cruise ship brought the overwhelming majority of 6,000 tourists in four trips to Durres port from late May to Oct. 15 2015.
Port Authorities say the majority 80 percent of tourists came from the U.K. and the remaining part from Germany, Austria, the U.S., Italy, China and Brazil.
In their single-day visit to Albania, cruise ship tourists, visit Durres, the neighbouring historic town of Kruja and the UNESCO World Heritage town of Berat.
“In Roman times, the city of Durres was an important port perched on the head of a long beach. These days, the city has spread south, adding a sprinkling of monuments, shopping boulevards and sprawling suburbs to the mix. Things still centre on the coastline – the sands here roll out for an impressive 10 kilometres,” says U.K.-based Thomson company about its Durres itinerary.
Visiting Durres has now become more attractive to tourists with the reopening of the newly restored archaeological museum and the reconstruction of the city’s central square.
After picking Albania as a top destination for 2012, the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national newspaper, also put the coastal city of Durres, Albania’s second biggest city, on top of the eight exciting new cruise ports to explore. Featuring a picture of crowded Durres beach, the Canadian newspaper describes Durres as “a handy jumping off point for tours of the coast and castle tours.”
“Durres, Albania: Here’s your chance to see Adriatic beach resorts that for years were heavily guarded enclaves of the country’s elite. Albania second-largest city is a handy jumping off point for tours of the coast and castle tours,” wrote Canada’s Globe and Mail.
Founded in the 7th century BC under the name Epidamnos, Durres has been continuously inhabited for 27 centuries and is one of the oldest cities in Albania. The city boasts a Roman amphitheatre of the 2nd century A.D, one of the largest in the Balkan.
