Photo Credit: Rritje Albania   During the two-day event, tour operators from Austria, Greece and the United Kingdom met with Albanian tour operators and hotels, holding over 50 business-to-business meetings to discuss opportunities for future relations.

USAID Links Albanian Businesses to Foreign Investment Opportunities in Tourism

TIRANA, OCTOBER 9, 2009     The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) co-organized and co-sponsored the Conference and Exhibition on Tourism and Real Estate in Albania held this week in Tirana. The event showcased to foreign investors the opportunities for investment in Albania’s tourism and real estate industries. The event also introduced USAID’s newest project, Rritje Albania, a 5-year, $10 million program that will increase the competitiveness of Albanian non-agriculture enterprises. USAID’s Mission Director, Roberta Mahoney delivered remarks at the opening ceremony on Wednesday evening with the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, Suzana Turku, and the Deputy Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rrok Ndoka.

During the two-day event, USAID organized a discussion with industry leaders on the development of public-private partnerships in tourism, and held dozens of business-to-business meetings among Albanian and foreign tour operators.  Tour operators from Austria, Greece and the United Kingdom met with Albanian tour operators and hotels, holding over 50 business-to-business meetings to discuss opportunities for future relations. The event also kicked-off a week-long familiarization tour with foreign tour operators to Albania’s southern coast and the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Butrint, Gjirokastra, and Berat.

In the coming months, USAID will organize more business-to-business events to enhance business relationships and generate new deals between Albanian enterprises and foreign buyers. The project will deliver business development services to client enterprises, working closely with local and international experts and establishing partnerships with public institutions and private business services providers.

About Rritje Albania:
The Rritje Albania, USAID’s Competitive Enterprise Development (CED) project, seeks to advance sustained, broad-based economic growth in Albania by expanding trade and investment, increasing enterprise productivity, and improving Albania’s workforce. Working directly with client enterprises in target industries, the project assists non-agricultural enterprises to become more competitive, increase sales, and create additional jobs by removing constraints and enabling Albanian private enterprises to expand their businesses in the marketplace. Currently the project is targeting enterprises from five industries: tourism, textiles/garments, footwear, recycling, and information and communications technology in ten municipalities: Durrës, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë, Kukës, Pogradec, Shkodër, Tirana, and Vlorë.