Tourism grows in Angola

Luanda – Over 294,000 tourists visited Angola in 2008, about a 60 per cent increase in tourism flow in the country, compared to the year 2007.

According to the statistics bulletin of the hotels and tourism market in Angola, which reached ANGOP last Tuesday in Luanda, 294,258 tourists were recorded in 2008.

Regarding the origins of the tourists, the document that was produced by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, states that 129,838 tourists came from Europe, 63.752 from Asia and 59.358 from South and North America.

Africa, Middle East and Australia contributed with 3.859, 1.860 and 1.391 tourists
respectively.

Angola is a large, developing country in south-west central Africa. The capital city is Luanda. Portuguese, the official language, is widely spoken throughout the country. Despite its extensive oil and mineral reserves and arable land suitable for large-scale production of numerous crops, Angola has some of the world’s lowest social development indicators. Development was severely restricted by a 27-year long civil war that broke out upon independence in 1975, which destroyed the majority of the country’s infrastructure. Since the conflict’s conclusion in 2002, the government has initiated extensive infrastructure reconstruction and development projects, and there are growing signs of economic recovery. However, Angola still faces challenges with its infrastructure and with providing government services, especially in basic social services, aviation and travel safety, accommodation availability and quality and communications. Facilities for tourism, particularly outside the capital of Luanda, are often rudimentary.