First flight Paris-Tamenrasset coincides with Algerian Saharan season 2008

First flight coming from Paris-Orly, south of France, arrives Sunday after the opening of the airline between Tamenrasset, South of Algeria and the French capital Paris.

• This new airline coincides with the launching of the Saharan season 2008 organized by Tamenrasset and Djanet localities, South of Algeria, under the “Sahara and tours”.
• This initiative encourages tourism in the Sahara through out creating and modernizing airlines in order to attract foreign tourists, especially those coming from France, and facilitating their moves, said minister of tourism Chrif Rahmani in Tamenrasset.
• Orly- Tamenrasset flight by the Algerian Airways includes French tourist agents and journalists as well as TV channels.
• Organizers choose “Tagrira” site at about 120km from Tamenrasset locality where tourists are invited to cross 110km of deserts before reaching Ain Azouaoua then Tagrira where a tent was set up.
• Local authorities, organizations, tires and experts in tourism spoke during their meeting on the importance of creating a local program for tourism in Algeria’s southern regions and the ways to attract more tourists in order to support incomes with foreign currencies, create sustainable development and combat unemployment.
• The meeting aims also at using all means to develop tourism in the Algerian Sahara by protecting environment there and stopping all kinds of pollutions.
• The minister stressed on making local plans in accordance with Saharan regions to put a light on their culture, civilization and history, then to develop services, health and security there.
• He also urged tourist agencies to develop their services and activity and follow modern examples in this field.
• Mr. Rahmani insisted on the importance of promoting investment and partnership in order to realize new projects in the Saharan regions and protect tourism there.
• During the meeting the ministry of tourism and local authorities signed a deal with tourist agencies in the southern regions in order to reach those goals.
• The Algerian portion of the Sahara, which was named after the Arabic word for desert, sharà, covers more than 90% of the country’s land area. Beneath the gravel and sand of the Sahara’s surface lie major oil and natural gas deposits that contribute to Algeria’s position as one of the wealthiest nations in Africa.
• The Tuareg are the ultimate desert dwellers, adapted to surviving in harsh conditions. The word Tuareg comes from an Arabic word meaning “the god-forsaken people” but they call themselves simply the Imouhar-the Free Men. Even today, the Tuareg are part of a nation that transcends international borders to spread through Algeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Libya. They are fair- skinned people- although burnished by sun and wind – who consider themselves white.
• Many hope that growing tourism in the Algerian Sahara will provide the source of income that will allow a new generation of Free Men to follow the Tuareg path.
• The best time to travel in the central Sahara in the winter months of October to May.
• In recent years Algerian tourism has suffered because of terrorism, is only now beginning to attract tourists again.   

  By/Dalila Henache