New work is being done to restore the capital’s former colonial attractions and develop its wildlife parks
ourism
agencies are unlikely to mention Angola as a holiday destination and
no amount of hyperbole is going to alter the current view that danger
and difficulties continue to linger in this poverty stricken African
nation.
Yet there are signs that, as a fragile peace returns to the country,
attempts to attract visitors are paying off. The country now has 100
travel agents, up from just two in 1982.
Hotels and tourism vice-minister Paulino Baptista says that 50,000 foreigners
have visited Angola in the past year, generating $7.2 million in revenue.
According to Mr Baptista most visitors have been from former colonial
ruler Portugal, as well as from Brazil, France, Britain and the US.
Tourism is limited mainly to the capital, Luanda, and a handful of resorts
along the coast.
Efforts are being made to renovate Luanda’s remaining colonial
buildings and the palm tree-fringed promenades which drew visitors before
the outbreak of war in 1975. Upmarket beach resorts line the city’s
peninsula, called the Ilha, and hotels are being spruced up.
Many
destinations in the country are accessible only by air; others are reached
only after hours driving over bone-jarring dirt tracks which become
impassable in the rainy season. It is simply not possible to walk into
your local travel agent and book a fortnight’s package holiday
to Angola with a guarantee that everywhere you stay will have air-conditioning,
hot and cold running water, a choice of menu and international dialling.
Common sense and patience are a prerequisite for all visitors. A visit
to Angola cannot be compared with one to Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania
and other African states where tourism facilities are far more advanced.
Yet there is much to discover, scenically and culturally.
As a fragile peace returns, efforts to attract visitors are starting to pay off
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Angolan
writer and dramatist Jose Mena Abrantes
says: “Angola is experiencing a fresh start in the development
of all cultural sectors. But we recognise that there is still much to
be done and much to achieve.”
Mr Abrantes, media adviser to the president, was among a number of leading
intellectuals and politicians who pushed for the creation of a national
prize for arts and culture, now in its second year. Each prize in five
separate categories is worth $30,000, a colossal sum of money for any
Angolan. “There is no ceremony in Angola that is not accompanied
by music or dance,” he adds.
Some investment is now being made in tourism projects. A few institutions,
even though their budgets are very limited, are making firm efforts
to establish policies and drive up standards.
Omar Silva Karim, president of the Kissama Foundation, says tourism
is still embryonic. The foundation is the administrator of Kissama national
park, and is involved in education and social welfare programmes throughout
the country.
“Tourism
is just starting in Angola and there is a great deal to do,” he
says. “During 26 years of war it was almost impossible to attract
tourists to Angola and therefore no tourism industry was developed.
But the situation is changing.”
For example, he points out: “This year, the provinces of Luanda
and Kwanza Sul, some private operators, hoteliers, travel agencies and
the Kissama Foundation got together to promote tourism in the country
for the solar eclipse.”
Kissama, 50 miles south of Luanda, is one of 11 national parks in Angola.
Years of illegal hunting have reduced the number of elephants and rhinoceros,
but the foundation is re-introducing species. It has also beefed up
anti-poaching patrols, although this is not easy over an area of one
million hectares with limited resources.
“We
are trying to get as much investment as possible to promote tourism
in the area,” adds Dr Karim.
With the government giving the 18 provinces greater freedom to pursue
programmes of economic regeneration, more of the country is being opened
up to tourism. The southern province of Namibe, with its unique plant
life and extraordinary desert rock formations, is one of the most accessible.
Angola is one of the 14 member states of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), which is reinforcing its cooperation in the tourism
sector. Earlier this year, the SADC-affiliated Regional Tourism Organisation
of Southern Africa agreed to a five-year strategy to develop sustainable
tourism. One item on the agenda was a proposed system allowing tourists
to visit all the SADC countries on a single visa.
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