Algeria unveils vision for regional tourism

Turmoil next door might enable Algeria to lure more visitors this summer, but some are unsure if the country can truly become the top tourist draw in the Maghreb.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 29/05/11

After popular uprisings took a toll on the Tunisian and Egyptian economies, Algerian authorities have been looking to promote their country as the top travel destination in the region.

The 12th International Tourism and Travel Fair (SITEV 2011), which ended May 21st, aimed to publicize the country's tourist sites. More than 250 local and foreign exhibitors partook in the four-day event in Algiers.

"Our country has at no point considered taking advantage of the situation caused by disturbances in Tunisia and Egypt," Tourism Minister Smail Mimoune said at the opening.

The goal is to re-launch the tourism sector in the country, with a five-year plan including hundreds of new tourist facilities over the period 2010-2014.

According to the ministry, Algeria received more than 2 million tourists in 2010, "who, given the improvement in the security situation, have seen their confidence in this destination restored".

"Algeria's geographic position is a real asset, and one from which Algerian operators hope to benefit as they attract tourists," Mimoune said, adding that the country "occupies a central position in the Maghreb".

"Its Mediterranean climate is mild in the north and dry in the south," he said. "This aspect is something positive, an asset which our tourist trade can use to its advantage."

Magharebia learnt that the government decided last week to speed up the process of examining tourist projects, which had been held back for 12 years by bureaucratic procedures.

Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia gave instructions to dissolve the committee responsible for approving tourism projects, passing the responsibilities to the National Investment Council (CNI) chaired by the prime minister.

Algerians are divided on whether the country can truly attract throngs of foreign tourists.

Some point to the lack of tourist infrastructure and the security situation as factors that may deter visitors from coming to Algeria. But the tourism minister feels that the priority is to promote "internal tourism", which means to pick up at least a large proportion of Algerian travelers who used to spend their holidays in Tunisia and Egypt.

Tunisia will not give up without a fight, however. Seventy Tunisian operators took part in the fair, with clearly one objective: to reassure Algerian visitors.

Tunisian National Tourism Office (ONTT) Director-General Habib Ammar held a press conference on May 18th on the sidelines of the tourism fair, where he said that the country had witnessed an estimated 48.6% drop in foreign currency receipts generated by tourism.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/05/29/feature-01.