Tourism

A diverse land of thermal springs, mountains, historic sites, vast desert and unspoilt Mediterranean coastline, Algeria offers a remarkable variety of activities for travellers. However, a decade-long civil war ending in 2002 and an antiquated transport infrastructure network have curtailed growth in the tourism sector, alongside negative perceptions abroad and a cumbersome visa regime. The flip side of underdevelopment is that the sector has massive potential to grow with the right sort of political will in place. As evidence of the latter, the government is currently implementing its long-term development blueprint for the sector. Known as the Tourism Development Masterplan 2030, it seeks to increase the sector’s share of GDP to 10%. Four new hotels are to be opened in the wilaya of Algiers in 2017, bringing the total there to 182, and growth in room numbers has been recorded across the country. In short, Algeria seems to be making the right moves to ensure that the capacity is there to support rising guest numbers. This chapter contains an interview with Abdelkader Benmessaoud, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts.