Benmeradi: “Bureaucracy, soaring prices, shoddy provisions of service behind national tourism decline”

Algeria is intent on developing nationwide tourism including in the Sahara to re-launch a flagging economic sector, now beset by several woes, through the speedy mobilization of all the necessary potentialities so as to achieve this goal in the very near future, the Algerian minister of tourism and crafts industry, Mr Mohamed Benmeradi, said during an interview as a distinguished guest with Echorouk’s Forum on Sunday.

The government has adopted a plan known as “Horizon 2025,” which is designed to address the lack of basic infrastructure. Various hotel operators are planning to build hotels, particularly along the Mediterranean coast, he indicated.

Another potential opportunity involves adventure holidays in the Algerian Deep South. The Algerian government has set the goal of boosting the number of foreign visitors, including tourists, to 2 million by 2015, Mr Benmeradi emphasized.

The Minister said that the government’s total budget for the 2013 summer season amounts to DZD 7 billion, against DZD 5 billion for the previous season. The minister underlined that a national inter-sectoral commission had been set up to supervise the preparations for 2013 summer season in Algeria.

Measures to facilitate proper hosting and stay in Algeria, during the current 2013 summer season, for Algerians living abroad and other tourists, have been taken in the country’s ports, airports, and land borders, said Mr Benmeradi, stressing that the best conditions will be ensured to this effect.

The number of foreign  tourists visiting Algeria increased by 65 percent  over the past few years representing a new era in the tourist industry, the tourism minister indicated. 

This increase “leads us to believe that the Algerian tourism industry is opening up further to appeal to foreign tourists he said, adding that the visitors were especially attracted to the enticing lure of the Saharan desert. 

The Algerian government wants to make a fresh start by investing in this unique desert. ‘The locomotive of the entire tourism sector in Algeria is the Sahara’, Mohamed Benmeradi also told Echorouk.

‘This is a place, (the Algerian Sahara),  no other country in the world can boast and has great potential for tourism growth’ adding that 

the government wants to build up a high-grade tourism industry by investing in this area of the country to boost the national economy as a whole.

Mr Benmeradi also reiterated a message stressed by Algerian authorities which some western countries do not believe: ‘The state has clearly won over the nefarious scourge of terrorism’.

In the Sahara, Algeria’s southern part, he said, ‘we need hotels, in particular with two and three stars, to develop new tourism packages, stressing that  Algeria offers many other enticing opportunities which still need to be discovered and exploited in terms of fresh and profit-yielding investments’.

A plan considered to attract tourists in the area is an itinerary, almost 2.000-km-long unifying fortifications built by former French colonists from El Golea until Fort Lami, said Benmeradi.

There are 100 of them and we are considering how to exploit this precious heritage which is currently relinquished, he added.

Also being considered for investments and to attract foreign capitals are the ‘approximately 1500 km of virgin coast to be developed near Roman archaeological sites where investments can be made in hotels and to make the area more welcome to national and foreign visitors alike, he explained’.

‘Many ambitious structural projects have already turned the country into a real construction site’, the Tourism minister went on to say.

‘There are some 750 tourism-related projects underway in Algeria for a total value of 2,5 billion euros sponsored by the private sector and slated to create over 45,000 sleeping accommodations by 2015, he announced’.

By the end of 2013 in the capital Algiers alone 1,200 luxury accommodations will be available, the Tourism minister also told Echorouk’s Forum.

Mr Benmeradi further noted that the t meradi further notedry potentatialities to achieve this goal in the very near futureterview with Echorouk’World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for instance supports Algeria’s tourism sector as a contributor to the countries’ socio-economic development.

As part of the United Nations family, UNWTO is committed to being a strong partner to Algeria along the road to greater prosperity, he noted.

Algeria has experienced good results as an international tourism destination, the Tourism and handicrafts minister recalled quoting UNWTO forecasts and appraisals.

In general, a continued healthy performance reflects the concerted efforts of both government and the national private sector to develop the relevant infrastructure, with a focus on market and product diversification, Mr Mohamed Benmeradi underlined.

‘Future expectations are also positive for Algeria, as the country is investing in new products and opening up access to new markets’, he pointed out.