 TOURISM |
 The Great South |
In addition to Algeria's exceptional beauty and the diversity of its natural sites, it also has a rich cultural heritage. However, these tremendous tourist resources were never fully exploited due mostly to terrorist activities of the past decade and political upheavals. For the moment, the influx of foreigners is limited to a certain type of businessmen. The government however intends to take advantage of the market opening and improvements in terms of security to promote an ambitious and well thought-out tourist policy.
| "Horizon 2010" Project |
It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism to develop a durable tourist industry in Algeria by the year 2010. A project was draw up to develop Algeria's natural and cultural potential, improve quality of services, restore Algeria's positive image abroad and satisfy citizen interests in terms of tourism and leisure. Of course, one must not forget that the contribution of this sector will dramatically alleviate unemployment. The objectives of the "Horizon 2010" Project is to double the present welcoming capacity, which is of about 60 000 beds. Furthermore, the volume of private investments should slightly increase. "Algeria is a neutral country which has gone through a difficult crisis, which in turn has halted the development of the tourist industry for a period of ten years. Thus, everything remains to be done, however, there is a huge number of investment opportunities" according to Mr. Hammouche Belkacemi, general manager of ONAT (Office National du Tourisme, National Tourist Office).
| With regards to tourist related products, the new strategy aims at creating needs adapted to domestic and international demand. Supply will thus be determined according to the international tourist situation and the prospects of its evaluation. Nevertheless, seaside resort tourism, the most requested worldwide, is a key asset. Business tourism is destined for certain growth with the increase of economic and commercial activities. The exploitation of thermal health resorts, which is in great demand in Algeria, represents on its own a considerable commercial asset. However, the trump card of Algerian tourism is most certainly the Great South, namely the Hoggar and the Tassili. "ONAT has put the Hoggar and Tassili products on the market because they have tremendous tourist value: it is the only product in the actual state of affairs that can attract a client base to Algeria. (…) With these extraordinary natural sites we would like to create a pumping effect and slowly re-introduce former favorite Algerian tourist destinations, namely the Oases in the middle-eastern part of the Sahara and the Saoura in the middle-western of the great Algerian desert." Explains the general manager of ONAT.
| Leisure: An Unknown Market |
The leisure sector is a mirror image of the tourist industry: very little has been done, a paradox for a country whose population is in majority young. In fact, Algeria lacks theaters, movie theaters, cultural and sports centers, leisure parks and museums. Again, this represents a tremendous investment opportunity. Mr. Louhibi, CEO of Lazer Productions, a company specialized in the production and manufacture of musical mediums, is one of the few entrepreneurs willing to invest in this market.
Nevertheless, the success of Lazer Productions reveals the great potential of this sector. "Our revenues for the year 2001 are of about one million Dollars. We are presently involved in the distribution of Khaled's albums, whose rights we bought from Universal (…)" explains the president of the company. Algeria's new strategy for the development of the tourist industry is dictated not only by the fact that it represents an important financial inflow, but also by the socio-economic stakes of the sector and the challenges imposed upon Algeria in the wake of globalization. Due to the fact that tourism is a horizontal sector, whose development depends on other fields such as transport, culture, leisure, craftsmanship and even environment, it is necessary to coordinate efforts among these different sectors. |
