TIRANA, Oct 12. The United States and Sweden will support the sustainable development of Albania’s promising tourism industry through a $6 million project. The 5-year project funded by USAID and the Swedish government will contribute to improvements in Albania’s tourism sector, including improvements to the country’s business enabling environment and workforce capacities, to serve as catalysts for job creation and economic growth.
The project was launched last week with a call for proposals which will announce five winners with financial support between $250,000 to $750,000.
“Tourism has been identified by both industry and government as a key priority for national development. As a sector, it holds great promise in stimulating economic development and employment growth across the geographic diversity of Albania,” donors say.
Tourism revenue registered a record high of 1.2 billion euros in 2014 when more than 3.6 million foreign tourists visited Albania, according to data published by the central bank and INSTAT.
Ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro account for three-fifths of foreign tourists visiting Albania, with local experts often referring to this market as ‘patriotic tourism.’
The travel and tourism industry, which employs around 41,000 people in Albania, is estimated to have contributed by $639 million or around 4.8 percent of the GDP in 2014.
