- Title: Algeria holds a four-day festival in the desert to promote tourism
- Date: 18th November 2024
- Summary: OUED SOUF, ALGERIA (NOVEMBER 14, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRADITIONAL BAND MEMBERS PERFORMING, FIRING SHOTS IN AIR AND PLAYING MUSIC VARIOUS OF MAN IN TRADITIONAL OUTFIT SERVING TEA, WITH YOUNG GIRL NEXT TO HIM WOMAN PREPARING WOOL-KNITTING TOOLS VARIOUS OF YOUNG GIRL SHAKING MILK IN GOAT SKIN PEOPLE GATHERING IN FRONT OF A BANNER READING (Arabic): "THE SIXTH EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SAHARAN TOURISM" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND BOOTHS AT EXHIBITION IN THE FESTIVAL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GUIDE WITH A TRAVEL AGENCY, LAKHDER SERAYE, SAYING: "It is much better than the past because issuing visas have been made easier for foreign tourists. They can obtain the visa through the (travel) agency, when they land in the airport or arrive by land border. This is a very positive facilitation." WOMEN TALKING GIRL AND WOMAN IN TRADITIONAL DRESSES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND BOOTHS AT THE EXHIBITION ALGERIA'S TOURISM MINISTER MOKHTAR DIDOUCHE CUTTING RIBBON, OPENING EXHIBITION DIDOUCHE TALKING TO REPRESENTATIVE OF TANET TRAVEL AGENCY BRAHIM BENHAMIDA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) REPRESENTATIVE OF TANET TRAVEL AGENCY, BRAHIM BENHAMIDA, SAYING: “Saharan tourism has recently witnessed a significant boom, especially after the coronavirus, as the Algerian authorities have provided facilities in granting visas to foreigners, especially tourist groups coming to the south, where visas are granted at the airport." BENHAMIDA TALKING ON THE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) REPRESENTATIVE OF TANET TRAVEL AGENCY, BRAHIM BENHAMIDA, SAYING: “Security is stable, thank God. There were periods that suffered from lack of security, but recently, thank God security has been stable and the authorities were very cooperative. We receive tourists all year long - except in the summer, when it decreases slightly." JOURNALIST ASKING (Arabic): "How many tourists do you have every year?" "We have about 900 to 1,000 tourists.” VARIOUS OF DIDOUCHE TALKING TO ATTENDEES OF THE FESTIVAL (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALGERIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM, MOKHTAR DIDOUCH, SAYING : “The strategy and the program that have been put in place by the government, concerning the promotion of tourism, especially local tourism and incoming tourism... For this, we have put in place a certain number of facilities which aim to increase the flow of arrivals. We have introduced what we call the visa on arrival, which is intended for all foreigners who want to visit the south, by going through an approved travel agency. Our presence here aims to promote Saharan tourism because we concluded that the flagship product of our tourism - which is well sought after by foreign tourists - is the Saharan product.” OUED SOUF, ALGERIA (NOVEMBER 16, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEN IN TRADITIONAL OUTFIT RIDING HORSES AND SHOOTING IN THE AIR VARIOUS OF MEN RIDING CAMELS DURING CAMEL RACE (SOUNDBITE) (French) SWISS TOURIST, MARIANE FARNI, SAYING : “Everyone was scaring us because it is Algeria, (saying) 'pay attention', while people are living. We haven't been assaulted or anything. No, no. I was not afraid. We were welcomed, the infrastructure is good. Well, we haven’t used public transportation because we had the chance to have private drivers but until now, everything is going well.” TOURISTS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (French) SWISS TOURIST, LUCIE CHETOLA, SAYING: “The journey was good. We did the visas in Switzerland so we didn’t have any administrative problem or so. The trip was very good." JOURNALIST ASKING (French): "Did you have any security problems?" "Not at all. I have always felt safe, probably more in the desert because we did an exclusion of five days (in the desert).” VARIOUS OF CHETOLA PUTTING ON A SCARF ON HER HEAD SECURITY PERSONNEL STANDING GUARD VARIOUS OF MEN RIDING HORSES AND FIRING SHOTS VEHICLES DRIVING DURING SAFARI TRIP VARIOUS OF PARACHUTE IN THE AIR PEOPLE GATHERING AROUND FIRE (NIGHT SHOT)
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2024 13:29
- Keywords: Algeria Saharan Tourism desert exhibition festival tourists visas
- Location: OUED SOUF, ALGERIA
- City: OUED SOUF, ALGERIA
- Country: Algeria
- Topics: Africa,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001049618112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Algeria hosted last week the sixth edition of the International Saharan Tourism Festival in Oued Souf in the Algerian desert, with more than 400 participants including tourism offices, hotels, travel agencies and craftsmen.
The four-day event - aimed to promote tourism in Algeria, especially in the desert - also included folkloric performances and activities to highlight the region's cultural heritage.
"Our presence here aims to promote Saharan tourism because we concluded that the flagship product of our tourism - which is well sought after by foreign tourists - is the Saharan product," Algerian tourism minister Mokhtar Didouche said after inaugurating the festival's exhibition on Thursday (November 14).
Didouche and other workers in tourism also highlighted how the state's facilitating the issuing of tourists visas has helped the sector.
Algeria wants to lure more visitors to the cultural and scenic treasures of Africa's largest country, shedding its status as a tourism backwater and expanding a sector outshone by competitors in neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia.
The giant north African country offers Roman and Islamic sites, beaches and mountains just an hour's flight from Europe, and haunting Saharan landscapes, where visitors can sleep on dunes under the stars and ride camels with Tuareg nomads.
As Algeria's oil and gas revenues grew in the 1960s and 70s, successive governments lost interest in developing mass tourism. A descent into political strife in the 1990s pushed the country further off the beaten track.
But while security is now much improved, Algeria needs to tackle an inflexible visa system and poor transport links, as well as grant privileges to local and foreign private investors to enable tourism to flourish, analysts say.
The country has plans to build hotels and restructure and modernize existing ones, as well as restore its historical sites, with 249 locations earmarked for tourism expansion.
The tourism ministry said in June that about 2,000 tourism projects have been approved so far, 800 of which are currently under construction.
In 2023, Algeria hosted 3.3 million foreign tourists, according the tourism ministry, among them about 1.2 million Algerians from the diaspora visiting families.
(Production: Abdelaziz Boumzar, Thawab Herzallah, Mai Shams El-Din) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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