Expanding sustainable tourism in the regions of Shkodra and Vlora

TIRANA, March 29 – “The strategic plan for sustainable tourism in Shkodra region” and “Strategic plan of Vlora region – the Zero Emission Territory (ZET)” were presented last week in Tirana in the presence of representatives of Albanian Ministry of Interior, Italian Embassy, United Nations Development Programme, local government, international development partners and media.
These two strategic development plans designed with technical assistance provided by UNDP ART GOLD 2 Programme were extensively consulted with local partners and stakeholders including private sectors representatives in Shkodra and Vlora and then approved by the regional councils of both regions.
The Deputy Minister of Interior Ferdinand Poni present at the event, amongst others stated: “The Ministry of Interior has been closely involved in this process and I believe that if we create good practices harmonious with the Albanian Government priorities, these practices will in the future develop into legal acts and become mandatory for all regions. This is to assure that in each region we will have relevant strategic documents emerging from extensive discussions processes and involving all stakeholders”.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Albania and UNDP Resident Representative, Zineb Touimi-Benjelloun highlighted: “The UN has embraced this initiative as we believe that regional development is crucial for the overall development of a country. National policies often take their final shape and make actual impact on people at the regional and sub-regional levels. In this respect, we are proud of the partnerships we have developed in Albania in this area. We see this work as one of the main avenues towards creating more empowered lives and more resilient nations. Regional development work in Albania has promoted improved governance, engagement of potential partners, and improved vertical communications for the benefit of communities.”
The aim of the Strategic Plans is to engage the local community create its own vision for the future, and discover the best ways to implement it by connecting the cultural, environmental, social and economic aspects of the territory.
The desk analyses and other relevant activities conducted in the region of Shkodra during the strategic planning process indicated that the region has a variety of tourist attractions (cultural heritage and natural resources, landscapes, traditional customs and delicious food), that can pave its potential to the development of a diversified tourist product attracting tourists throughout the year and, therefore, spreading socio-economic growth in the whole region.
According to its strategy, the region of Vlora should become a zone in which sustainability of development should be planned for and preserved at all sectors of human activity (tourist accommodation, infrastructure, solid waste management, water and wastewater management, productive activities, constructions activities, and so on) by becoming the core coordinate of all development policies and initiatives.
Currently, UNDP Albania is supporting regional development initiatives in more than half of the Albanian territory. Thanks to specialised Italian expertise channelled through ART GOLD 2 Albania, UNDP has provided technical assistance to Shkodra and Vlora regional development actors to develop in a participatory manner the two strategic documents.