Betting on green: State support and international investment are set to put the sector on the map

Increasingly aware of the need for economic diversification, Gabon is paying unprecedented attention to the development of its tourism sector. The new focus is being translated into investments aimed at modernising infrastructure, fostering the design of innovative products that can compete internationally, and looking at how the country’s natural attributes can be used to attract visitors and boost GDP.

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL: Tourism development is directly linked to plans for economic growth. Within the Emerging Gabon strategy, the Green Gabon plan demonstrates a recognition of the fact that sustainable development that demands the well-thought-out use of the country's natural resources will be key to long-term growth. This includes fisheries, agriculture, forestry and conservation. Tourism, albeit still a modest contributor to the national economy, has the potential to foster development in several different areas of the country, create new employment opportunities outside the major urban centres and raise Gabon’s profile in the region.

Despite a longstanding ambition to develop tourism, as evidenced by two different plans for the industry in 1976 and 1986, a strong government-led focus for strengthening the sector solidified only in the 1990s. Today, the goal of making Gabon a top-notch destination is anchored on the economic benefits that can be gained from conservation of natural habitats and wildlife. Quality rather than quantity is the priority as the industry strives to create renowned tourist spots.

VISITOR NUMBERS: According to the Ministry of Investment Promotion, Public Works, Transport, Housing and Tourism, the country received 100,000 tourism visits between 2006 and 2011. The government hopes that by 2020 that number will become the annual figure. The majority of the current visitors travel for business rather than pleasure.

Even so, Gabon’s increasing profile as a business destination, and especially its links to the oil sector, signal the latent opportunities for developing high-end tourism projects that could increase the length of stay of business visitors, and help establish the country as a regional leader for adventure and nature luxury tourism. Although most visitors go to the capital, Libreville, or the Port-Gentil area, where much of the oil sector is centred, the government hopes that the development of resorts around the National Parks will raise the country’s profile as a destination for natural beauty and high-end hospitality.

FACTS & FIGURES: The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a professional body that promotes and produces annual studies on the industry worldwide, estimates that the sector’s total contribution to the national economy reached €290m in 2012, or 2.7% of GDP. This is set to rise by 4.6% in 2013.

The WTTC also predicts, in a report entitled “Travel and Tourism: Economic Impact 2013 Gabon”, that the sector’s contribution to GDP will grow by over 7.8% per year until 2023, when it is expected to account for CFA419.3bn (€629m). This anticipated doubling of tourism’s contribution to GDP over the coming decade bodes well for the distribution of economic development across the country, especially considering that much of the industry’s development will be on the back of the National Parks, most of which are in remote areas.

The number of jobs directly and indirectly supported by the tourism sector in Gabon is also on an upward trend. From 2.3% of total national employment in 2012, the workforce is expected to rise to about 2.7% in 2013. The WTTC also estimates that the percentage of jobs linked to and supported by tourism activity will grow by 7.2% each year until 2023, when it is expected to account for 23,000 jobs, or 3.8% of total national employment.

Visitor earnings accounted for €7.2m in 2012, according to WTTC figures. Although they are predicted to fall by 1.5% in 2013, an upwards trend is set to return in 2014, rising around 2.2% until 2023.

WORK TO BE DONE: Despite the encouraging figures, the sector has a long way to go. Tourism remains a marginal contributor to the national economy, especially when compared with sectors such as energy. Pitted against other nations, tourism accounts for a small part of activity, which underlines the headway other countries have made in recognising the industry’s importance to development.

Gabon ranked 172nd on a global WTTC list evaluating the sector’s contribution to employment in 2012, well below Egypt in 12th place, Tanzania in 32nd and Kenya in 49th. Tourism contributes 17% to GDP in Kenya, 9% in South Africa, 8% in Tanzania and 6.5% in Botswana. These countries have facilitated access to wildlife and natural scenery, establishing a foothold in the global tourism market by offering the definitive “African experience”.

With so much room to grow, Gabon is set to follow regional trends. The WTTC estimates that the sector’s direct contribution to GDP for the whole of Africa reached 3.8% in 2012, and is set to grow at an annual rate of 5% between 2013 and 2023.

To become a regular tourism stop, Gabon will have to build a reputable brand based on its natural scenery, but at the same time differentiate itself from other established destinations. “Until recently, tourism has not been at the same level as other sectors, as there were other development priorities,” said Annie Blondel, advisor to the president for tourism development. “However, we want it to become a relevant part of our economy, as this will have a big impact on the country’s overall progress.”

CONSERVATION: Differentiating Gabon from other countries will not be difficult. Despite being relatively small compared to some of its neighbours, Gabon boasts an impressive array of wildlife and natural scenery. In 2012 it was ranked first in Africa in terms of environmental sustainability in an index published annually by Yale University. The distinction was based on 22 indicators that measure elements such as environmental management efforts, sustainability of natural resources and levels of pollution. The number one spot is an improvement on its 2010 position, when the Environmental Performance Index ranked Gabon ninth on the continent.

The country’s wildlife gained greater international recognition after American-born biologist Michael Fay discovered several new fauna and flora species in Gabon after extensive exploration in Central Africa in 2000. To protect this, former President Omar Bongo Ondimba established 13 National Parks in 2002, which represent 11% of the country’s land area.

“The first role of the National Parks was to preserve this biodiversity. After this was achieved, Gabon began to think of its potential for tourism development,” said Christian Johnson-Ogoula, deputy technical director at the National Agency for National Parks (Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, ANPN). “It was around 2008-09 that there was the idea of developing ecotourism in the National Parks.”

DUAL ROLE: To manage the country’s green heritage, the government created the ANPN in 2007. Currently employing approximately 500 staff, the agency’s mandate revolves mainly around the protection and development of the National Parks, but it is increasingly participating in the design of tourism products that can take advantage of the parks’ natural heritage in a sustainable manner.

In February 2013 the ANPN signed a conservation tourism concession agreement with SFM Safari Gabon, the local subsidiary of developers SFM Africa, to allow for the creation of resorts in the Loango and Pongara National Parks. The resorts are the initial phase of an ecotourism safari circuit to be established in Gabon over the coming years. The ANPN is also working with SFM Safari Gabon to establish the Loango Great Apes Institute, which will be managed by the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and be included in the wildlife circuit. The ANPN’s growing importance in ensuring a sustainable development of tourism in the National Parks has meant an enhanced budget, which rose from €750,000 in 2006 to around €12m in 2013.

Non-governmental organisations have also established themselves in Gabon over the years. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been working in the country since 1985, when it conducted the first forest elephant survey. This evolved into helping to establish the National Park network. Today, the WCS is still supporting conservation efforts in seven of the country’s 13 National Parks, by training government conservation workers and also helping to develop pilot ecotourism projects.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) arrived in the country in 1992. The organisation is heavily involved in conservation efforts in the Gamba complex area, which encompasses two of Gabon’s National Parks, Loango and Moukalaba-Doudou, covering a combined area of some 6500 sq km.

POACHING: Some regional problems pose a threat to conservation efforts. Gabonese authorities have had to contend with illegal immigration and trafficking of wildlife in some of the remote border areas. Despite the 1989 ban on the ivory trade, poaching remains a problem. The government has been keen to show its willingness to stem ivory poaching. Much publicity was created by President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s public burning of the government’s ivory stocks in 2012, a strong sign that the issue is not taken lightly. An extension of prison sentences for poaching and ivory trafficking followed shortly after.

In early 2013, research conducted by the ANPN in conjunction with both the WWF and the WCS found that, since 2004, around 11,000 forest elephants had been killed in Minkebe National Park. Authorities believe that, at one point, between 50 and 100 elephants were being killed every day, when poaching for tusks peaked during 2011. The business has been driven by demand from Asia and the rising price of ivory, which has shot up tenfold over the past five years, according to some estimates.

This exemplifies the challenges faced by the authorities as they try to stem the flow of poachers from neighbouring Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo. Situated in the north-eastern extreme of the country, Minkebe National Park covers an area the size of Belgium, is made up of forests and is insufficiently served by roads.

The remoteness of some of the protected areas makes it hard for authorities to properly monitor them. The conflict between authorities and traffickers now involves police and army elements, which have been sent to the north to help stem the infiltration of poachers from neighbouring countries. Gabon still has the world’s largest population of forest elephants, estimated at 60,000.

HOTEL OFFERING: Maintaining the country’s natural assets is not the only pressing issue the sector is dealing with. Private and governmental authorities are also actively pursuing a revamping of hotel infrastructure. According to the Tourism Satellite Account – the first government-led study on the sector – the number of hospitality businesses operating formally in 2011 was 1100, around half of which were in the Estuaire Province. Numbers have, however, been rapidly increasing as new hotels and accommodation options become available.

Co-hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (Coupe d’Afrique des Nations, CAN) with Equatorial Guinea in 2012 encouraged the establishment of new places to stay. Most of them targeted the middle market and were built around the capital.

The effect of this was seen before the start of the event. According to local media, hotel occupancy rates in Libreville increased 23% in the first nine months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010. The government itself built six new hotels to help accommodate the extra visitors. Two of the new venues were in Libreville, one of which was later transformed into the Samuel Eto’o Foundation Academy. The authorities also built the Hotel Mbaya in the eastern city of Franceville, and three other hotels in Bongoville, Ngouoni and Moanda.

CAPITAL GAINS: Private operators have equally been following suit with new facilities, attracted by the prospect of a growing business travel market, especially in Libreville, where the majority of foreign visitors first arrive. The new hotels are mostly small operations, with around 30 rooms.

However, alternative options have also been appearing in the capital. In January 2012 Onomo Hotel Libreville opened in the capital, near the airport. It has 118 rooms and caters for a mid-market business clientele, with prices averaging around CFA80,000 (€120) per room per night.

Another chain, the Sino-Gabonese Etoile d’Or has also been expanding, with units in the Sablière and London neighbourhoods in Libreville, and a third unit currently under construction in Louis.

Improvements are also taking place at some of the capital’s more established hotels. Le Méridien Libreville is investing at least $43m to revamp facilities, and the Okoume Palace is also undergoing work to upgrade its rooms. One of the capital’s oldest hotels, it was managed under the Intercontinental brand until it was sold to Libyan developers Laico and later bought by Wali Hotels & Resorts. The $50m renovation will transform the Okoume Palace into two hotels: a Park Inn by Radisson with 140 rooms and a Radisson Blu with 330 rooms. The first to be finished, the Park Inn, is set to open in late 2013. The two-hotel complex will have five restaurants, a pool, conference rooms, a business lounge and a gym.

Other heavyweight hoteliers are looking to expand into Gabon. Marriott International announced plans to open its first units in Libreville in 2015. The group signed a deal with Prime Hospitality to manage a 250-room upscale hotel and a 40-unit hotel. Both will help increase the high-end hospitality offering.

UNEVEN FLOW: Despite the gradual increase in the number of business visitors, and the potential to link the expanding offering of international-standard rooms with the emerging ecotourism sector, challenges abound. Hotel operators in Gabon deal with very specific market conditions.

With the lack of an established industry to secure a predictable flow of tourists, and visitor numbers heavily dependant on business travellers, the market is driven largely by events. “The hotel market here is quite particular, and so occupancy is dependant on special dates, state visits or sporting events,” Pascal Perus, the general manager of Onomo Hotel Libreville told OBG. The CAN in 2012 and a visit by the King of Morocco in early 2013 were clear examples of this, with both having a major impact on hotel occupancy rates in the capital.

IMPACT ON PRICES: Market operators are wondering how the increase in offerings might affect future earnings. As new hotels spring up and older, established venues renovate to become more attractive to a growing clientele looking for international standards, there may be an impact on average prices per night. “The hotel business at the moment is a good investment because the room prices are high,” said Perus. “However, if the increase in the number of rooms brings prices down, then this will be a problem because the operational costs in Gabon are high, mainly due to high salaries and food imports.”

Port-Gentil, where the oil industry is centred, presents opportunities for additional capacity, as the demand for international-standard accommodation grows in the coming years, and the market remains underserved by international hotel brands.

ATTRACTING INVESTMENT: Development is also taking place in high-end tourism (see analysis), with the arrival of international investors SFM Africa Group and Aman Resorts, both of which are taking advantage of the impressive natural scenery to develop luxury nature-based resorts connected to the various National Parks.

These new investments are helping to underline the potential for tourism, and the authorities are now hoping that the major names associated with the new luxury resorts might spur other investors into adding to Gabon’s infrastructure.

The government is eager to attract new investment and develop products that will allow Gabon to compete with more established destinations. From the onset, however, the plan was based on a choice to focus on high-end tourism. In its 2011-16 plan for the industry, the government stated its wish to avoid the perils of mass tourism, especially if the goal of environmental sustainability is to be pursued.

However, the country is keen to get more private operators involved. Priority areas are new resorts and hotels in proximity to its National Parks, development of training centres for the sector’s human resources, and the improvement of transport infrastructure that can help connect the capital with the country’s most remote attractions.

Further development might well come from the country’s extensive beaches. Despite the 850 km of Atlantic coast, efforts to develop tourism have centred on the National Parks. So far, there has barely been any development in coastal areas. The government hopes that foreign capital might be attracted over the coming years to promote the development of beach-oriented resorts.

DOMESTIC MARKET: The expansion of middle-market accommodation options currently taking place in Libreville and, at a slower rate, in other cities will no doubt have an impact on government efforts to expand domestic tourism.

The investment opportunities underlined by the government also include the building of mid-market options around the National Parks. Developing options for domestic tourism could create a stable flow of visitors – both Gabonese and foreigners resident in Gabon – to the attractions. “We want to attract investors to this intermediate segment. We also want to work on what is already there and get these operators to enhance their existing hospitality capabilities,” said Johnson-Ogoula. “Gabonese are mostly travelling to visit relatives, so we need to promote this idea of adding leisure to the travel.”

ACCESSIBILITY: The success of efforts to boost domestic tourism will be largely dependant on the expansion of transport networks. Dense equatorial forests make some of the most important attractions difficult to access, although there are also National Parks that are accessible by road or rail. A lot domestic travel is also done through a network of small airports spread around the country, some of which are little more than landing strips.

Several European and African airlines have invested to get a slice of the Gabonese air market. South African Airlines, Turkish Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France all have regular flights into Libreville. The number of airlines flying into the Léon Mba International airport in the capital rose by 5% in 2012. The total number of passengers rose by 7%, due largely to business travel, reaching a total of 830,376, according to figures collected by airport authorities. There are currently over 20 airlines regularly flying through Libreville. Turkish Airlines opened its daily route from Istanbul to Libreville in February 2013, connecting Gabonese tourism operators to the potentially lucrative Turkish travel market.

REGIONAL CARRIERS: Regionally, the arrival of Cotonou-based Westair Benin, which started flying into Libreville in 2013, has increased the number of connections between West and Central Africa, and should have a positive impact on the industry. A rise in the number of African carriers in the Gabonese market is essential if the authorities want to increase tourist arrivals from neighbouring countries, especially from unexplored markets such as Nigeria.

The increase in airlines bodes well for government plans to attract visitors. However, to fully take advantage of air travel to connect Libreville with other areas of the country, more coordination and partnerships between international airlines and those covering the national market are needed.

IMPROVING HUMAN RESOURCES: To prepare for the expected increase in visitors, training programmes are under way to equip Gabonese workers with the necessary skills. The ANPN and WCS are working with the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Technical Teaching to allow for the recognition of tourism guide diplomas, as the process requires certain parameters, such as the numbers of hours taught.

The training programmes are set to include coursework as well as fieldwork within the National Parks. The goal is to create at least a dozen well-trained guides. “We need our guides to be at the level you would find in, say, Kenya,” said Johnson-Ogoula.

To help with the effort, trainers from Kenya are to travel to Gabon to be part of the teaching staff, in a project that will be financed by Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa, an EU programme that is supporting conservation efforts in several African countries. Training for the first batch of guides will start in October 2013, and should take around six months.

The government is also planning to set up a hotel school to increase the number of trained workers to fill vacancies in the upcoming hospitality units. This will be especially important if the country is to develop tourism in the high-end segment, where service delivery is one of the principal considerations of travellers. “Employees in the sector are often not people who have had any previous training or education in the industry, so we need to improve their capacities,” said Johnson-Ogoula.

OUTLOOK: Tourism is finally receiving the attention it deserves, both from the authorities governing the sector and from private operators, who have recognised the industry’s economic potential. The upgrading of hospitality options and promotion of Gabon in the ecotourism market should soon boost the sector’s contribution to GDP. The arrival of international development projects, along with the government’s focus on sustainability, is set to accelerate development efforts. Governmental choices are being supported by a rise in the number of air connections, as more airlines take up position to gain a share of routes between Gabon and Europe, as well as other African capitals. Meanwhile, enhancing the training of human resources will allow the industry to raise service levels and facilitate repeat business. With a focus on quality rather than numbers, the sector will only grow if the operators can add a high level of service provision to Gabon’s natural attributes.