Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, within the “Innotourclust Plus” project, part of the Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro program, held on May 5 the workshop on “Networking and Promotion of the Tourism Sector”.
Albanian tourism companies, as well as representatives of organizations and institutions that cover this sector, took part in this activity. During the welcoming speech, Mrs. Alma Kordoni, project manager at CCI-Tirana, shared information and presented the strategic objectives of the “Innotourclust Plus” project, as well as its results.
“The main objective is to improve the competitiveness and cooperation of enterprises between the three countries of the program: Italy, Albania and Montenegro through the creation of a cluster, an instrument that gathers tourism actors and tourism agencies of the three countries with the aim of interacting with each other, networking. The impact on the socio-economic development of the country is another objective”.
Statistics show an increase in the number of tourists who want to visit Albania. In order to keep this trend at an increasing level, it is necessary to design and apply strategies for the activation of tourists through the realization of various activities. Ms. Herida Duro from the Ministry of Tourism, mentioned the importance of the tourist calendar as part of the packages that helps to improve the image of the tourist destination.
Mrs. Alketa Veseli, representative from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, spoke about the development of regional policies that are happening within the framework of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).
“For the facilitation of tourism trade for these two components – travel agencies and tour operators – a working group has been set up with representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance and Economy, who in cooperation with experts from the CEFTA parties we are discussing the draft decision on facilitating the trade of tourist operators and tourist agencies. This draft decision will address two aspects: freedom of establishment and freedom to provide cross/border services. The decision contains the elimination of unnecessary licensing criteria.”
In this workshop, a special space was also devoted to the dedication that hotel structures should offer to people with disabilities. Participants shared suggestions and offered ideas about ensuring accessibility for this category. The head of the Club of Parents of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Mrs. Eglantina Bajrami called for the development of the culture of access to tourism for all categories.
“Hotels must offer themselves to provide tourist service that is careful about the suitability, ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities. This would also bring a wider attendance. It would indirectly affect the awareness of the society.”
For a better and innovative harmonization of companies, during the workshop it was also discussed about the improvement of education and professional skills in the tourism sector.
This activity served as a bridge between the participants, where not only experiences were exchanged, but also collaborations were created.
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