Bank of Algeria lowers tourism grant to 120 Euros for the first time

Contrary to the promises that were made by the financial sector’s officials in Algeria, which included most of the time the government’s seeks to raise the tourism grant that is provided for the citizens who wish to travel abroad, and which was estimated to 130 Euros, the Bank of Algeria has decided for the first time to reduce it to 120 Euros because of a large shortage of foreign currency, a problem, which experts attributed to the decline in the hard currency, which enters to Algeria, despite the assurances that were launched by the bank, since two weeks ago, and which show that the points of selling do not face any crisis at this level.

A large number of citizens, starting from last Thursday, were surprised of reducing the tourism grant of the Algerians who are heading to abroad to 120 Euros, instead of identifying it by 130 Euros, as accustomed previously, and considered that these funds, which are called by many with the name “A grant” is not even enough to spend a day outside the country, at a time when experts confirm that this reduction is deliberate because of the large drop in Algerian revenues of hard currency, which collapsed by half compared with last year, due to the lower oil revenues. 

Economist expert, Bachir Messitfa, thinks that the Bank of Algeria may decide at any moment that includes tourism grant definitively and deprive Algerians who are heading to abroad from it, in the framework of austerity measures that were initiated by the government and which touched a number of sectors and budgets, in the forefront the budget of equipment, in addition to stop the cars’ import, adding: “This is one of the reflections of foreign exchange shortage and one of the aftershocks of the general economic situation that is experienced by Algeria”.

“Citizens escape from preserving the dinar to the safe resorts like preserving their savings in the form of Euros, dollars, real estate and gold that caused a scarcity of “hard currency”on the banks level. 

Former Secretary of State in charge of Prospective and Statistics confirmed that most of the foreign currency that is present in Algeria, and which is awarded in the form of grants for travelers outwards tourist, and who are heading to Turkey, Tunisia, Britain and Morocco, which made the government decide to reduce this grant at the time freezing it was expected during the next phase, in light of the crisis that is afflicting the Algerian dinar, and this was suggested within the possible solutions to counter the problem and to accelerate the release of the Project of the Bank Community, which could include the accounts of 4.5 million Algerians abroad, and transfer the savings of the community and enable them to buy the assets of companies in the public and private sector, and thus Algeria is free from any financial shock.