WTO: Algeria 4th most popular African destination

Algeria 4th most popular African destination after Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa, the World Tourism Organization said here on Sunday.

Over two million tourists visited Algeria in 2010, the source added. Border entries recorded 1.911.506 visitors in 2009, an increase of 7.89% (1.771.749 tourists in late 2008). This large number of tourists brought back revenues estimated at $330 million, according to WTO.

Majority of tourists are Algerians living abroad, representing 71% of the flux with a total of 1.230.000 tourists. Foreign tourists’ number 511.000 (29%).

Leisure and business are the main reasons which attract tourists to Algeria. Business tourism has experienced strong and steady growth over the past two years, in contrast to the missions that have experienced a significant decline in 2009 compared to 2008. For business, we recorded 208 076 visitors, 32% of the total growth of 25.44% (165.882 tourists in 2008).

“Algeria offers an accommodation capacity of less than 100.000 beds. The current capacity of hotels is 90.000 beds; our goal is to reach 160.000 beds in 2015”, says Mimoun, a tourism official.

“To fight against failures and ensure quality services at these hotels, Tourism Ministry opted for “rental-package management” or “management contracts”, he added.

Private investors, therefore, will be limited and contribute to create their own contributions in terms of management in order to meet international standards.