TIRANA, May 13 /ATA/ – Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu on Wednesday visited the “Welcome Centre” in Saranda, a multifunctional facility set to open soon that combines modern infrastructure with Albania’s tourism hospitality tradition.
Accompanied by Mayor Oltion Çaçi, Koçiu inspected the site, which includes around 100 public parking spaces for buses and private vehicles.
She described it as a key “gateway of hospitality” and said the investment improves visitor management while addressing long-standing parking challenges in the coastal city.
“It is not only a parking facility, but also offers cafés, restaurants and spaces for visitors to wait comfortably until their departure,” she said, adding that it will be managed by the municipality and help better distribute tourist flows.
The 8,000-square-metre facility spans three floors and includes underground parking, forming part of a broader effort to upgrade Saranda’s tourism infrastructure.
Koçiu called Saranda one of the “jewels of Albanian tourism” and said visitor numbers had increased two- to threefold in the past five years, underlining the need for sustainable development.
Mayor Çaçi said the project, supported by the Albanian Development Fund and the World Bank, is complete and will open within May.
He said the centre will ease traffic congestion by redirecting buses away from the city centre, improving mobility ahead of the tourist season.
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