The Project aims at encouraging the socio-economic development of the rural regions in Albania which have potentials of economic development especially in the domain of tourism. This project includes 16 communes which are geographically spread and which display not only special traits of tourism (the communes perform various types of tourism: coastal, mountainous, echo-tourism, agro-tourism etc.) but also the needs to be addressed to are different. That is why, this project provides technical assistance which varies according to the communes and which is adjustable to the needs that the staff and local elected officials encounter in their respective communes.

Two weeks ago, at the ADF headquarters  was organized the presentation of the tourism development plans drafted by the local organisations which were contracted within the project framework.These Plans are as follows:

• The Tourism Development Plan for Kryevidh Commune prepared by Europartner.
• The Tourism Development Plan for Qender Vlore Commune, prepared by the URI (The The Urban Research Institute)
• The Tourism Development Plan for Petran Commune, prepared by the Center for Research and Development.

In the course of this week, the Tourism Development Plan for Ishem Commune, which is being prepared by ICS (Institute for Contemporary Studies), is going to be presented.
The key local actors and staff contributed to the drafting  these plans. These plans are presented at the ADF’s headquarters in the presence of ADF’s Staff and LGU representatives. The questions and considerations raised in these meetings are reflected in the final plan.
Copies of these plans are available at ADF and soon enough they are going to be forwarded to the communes. The plans which were presented aimed firstly  at providing a feasible  profile on the tourism  that is currenty   practised in the surveyed areas, and  on the availability of  tourism potentials in these areas. Based on the data collected from the analysis of the tourism profiles on the regions, the consultants have drawn a strategy on the ways how  to  develop tourism through exploitation of the tourist potentials available in the surveyed areas, and to be more precise a concrete mid-term plan of action has been drafted. These plans conclude with a set of recommendations to be taken into consideration.
Example: Tourism Development Plan for Kryevidh Commune. The goal of this plan is to increase the incomes generated from tourism.

This goal is going to be attained through four key strategic objectives:

• Attraction of the greatest number possible of foreign tourists;
• Increase of expenses per  tourist visit;
• Prolongation of the tourist season;
• Ensuring a market of special interest.

These plans present a set of activities which have to be carried out under each respective objective.
 We are confident that the communes are provided with a very useful and practical document to be applied. These plans ensure a diversity of activities  to be provided by the areas with tourism potentials in our country.
Within the month of June, five other narrow sectoral plans will be presented for the Communes of Kutalli, Drenove, Orikum and Fushe-Kuqe.These plans are being drafted by the local consultants contracted by ADF within the project framework.
Furthermore within this time span, three spatial plans on priority areas  in the Communes of Petrele, Ulez and Velipoje will be presented. Currently, these spatial plans are being prepared by a studio contracted by ADF.

At the same time, the five LGU-s included in the drafting of Local Development Plans (Tregan, Kutalli, Drenove, Orikum and Fushe Kuqe) are working also  on  drafting the  vision, strategic goals and concrete plans of action. Local teams are working under four  sub-commissions split up according to priority domains: Economic Development, Social Development, Infrastructure and Public Services and last but not the least Good-Governing.