TIRANA, Feb 28 /ATA/ Tirana has seen a fourfold increase in the number of foreign tourists, growing into an important player in the industry of tourism.
During a meeting with tour guides in the capital, the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj emphasized that this “boom” in tourism came after the investments and transformation that Tirana has experienced, singling out its most iconic areas, the “Scanderbeg” square, New Bazaar and the Castle of Tirana.
“Especially last year when we held the title of European Youth Capital or this year when we hold the title of the Sport City, I struggled to enter and exit the municipality due to the groups of tourists in the city. I felt like I was living in Babel, while hearing groups of tourists speak a diversity of languages. In a nutshell, I believe that the tourism in Tirana is at its best today. So, beyond all the setbacks we are dealing with, this city has never been better than this before,” said Veliaj.
The mayor of Tirana listed some of the main tourist attractions that have been revamped recently, while singling out the Pyramid which, according to him, will soon be among the 3 most overrated spots in Tirana.
“I can’t believe a year has passed since we haven’t added a new station where it’s really worth showing the tourists around. We started with the “House of Leaves,” we continued with the “New Bazaar,” with the Castle of Tirana, and here there is a number of the so called “tourist traps.” I am convinced that the Pyramid will be the attraction, if not the most Instagrammed place, at least among the three most visited attractions by tourists. It is a 360-degree balcony of Tirana,” he said.
The mayor added that another two new stations that will be worth a visit by tourists are “Sarajet”(Women’s quarter) which has been expropriated by the municipality and will be converted into the Ethnographic Museum of Tirana and the Libohoviteve House. In the meantime, the work is well underway to restore the “Dritëro Agolli” house, as was the case with the “House of Leaves” or “Ismail Kadare” house.
For destinations further from the center, Veliaj put the emphasis on walking.
“On New Boulevard, work has focused on making more space for walks and what are called “linear parks.” In some other cases, we had to make some kind of compensation in urban planning, like on “Zogu I” boulevard, another street that is visited a lot, where we removed all the parking lots,” explained Mayor Veliaj.
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