Morocco and Tunisia compete to attract more Algerian tourists
7 June 2013
Read by 1798 persons
In 2012, the number of Algerian tourists who stayed in Morocco is estimated at 90,000, ten times less than those who chose Tunisia. For 2013, Morocco wants to do more, and Tunisia has set itself the goal of one million Algerian visitors. Increased competition between the two countries.
The summer season opens this Sunday in Algeria. And it is in Morocco and Tunisia that preparations are already underway to welcome the maximum number of Algerian tourists. Tourism professionals in these two neighboring countries do not hide their strategies to attract more by diversifying formulas, including during Ramadan. While Tunisia has the advantage of open land borders between the two countries, Morocco intends to make the most of air links to increase the number of Algerian tourists. The Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, expressed last Friday the kingdom's interest in the Algerian market, which he described as "promising", during a meeting in Fes (center) with operators from this neighboring country. According to Mr. Haddad, "nearly 90,000 Algerians" visited Morocco in 2012. "The Algerian market recorded significant growth last year", he said. While waiting for the reopening of land borders, the Moroccan Minister of Tourism wants to increase the number of air services between the two countries. "We need to have more air links not only between Casablanca and Algiers but also between other Algerian cities such as Oran and Constantine, and other Moroccan cities such as Fes, Marrakech and Agadir", he also declared. In mid-May, Morocco participated for the second time in the Algiers International Tourism and Travel Fair (SITEV) and, according to Mr. Haddad, the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) could open a representation in the Algerian capital, "in the event of a significant increase in the number of tourists" from this country. Morocco, which reached the 10 million visitor mark in 2012, has set itself the goal of being among the top 20 tourist destinations in the world by 2020. Tourism, the second largest provider of jobs, represents 8% of its GDP, and the kingdom is currently the leading destination outside the European Union for French and Spanish people, according to the Moroccan government.
Improving reception conditions in Tunisia
After recording 900,000 Algerian tourists in 2012, Tunisia wants to increase this figure to one million visitors in 2013, and thus return to the level reached before January 2011. If the vast majority of Algerian visitors choose the land route, mainly due to the high cost of air tickets from Air Algeria and Tunisair, Tunisia nevertheless plans to increase services between the two countries. Tunisair, which has a daily flight to Algiers and two weekly flights to Oran, will double its capacity during the summer period. The company's forecasts for 2013 are around 100,000 passengers departing from Algeria. To this end, Tunisia is pulling out all the stops. It plans to launch a promotional campaign on several media (television, radio, print and online press) to promote the Tunisian destination to Algerian tourists, and also plans to improve reception and transit conditions at border posts. About 20% of Tunisians live off tourism revenue. The number of jobs in the sector, whose share in GDP is estimated at 7%, is estimated at 400,000 jobs, according to Jamal Gamra, the Tunisian Minister of Tourism, during his stay in Algiers at the head of the Tunisian delegation to the last SITEV. "We are ready to collaborate with Algeria and to seduce together, mainly the Asian market (Japanese and Chinese) to face competition. Algeria has an important role to play in the diversity of the tourist product, and the Algerian Sahara remains unparalleled", also declared the Tunisian Minister of Tourism.
Maghrebemergent.com
Published on June 1, 2013.
Posted online on June 7, 2013.
The summer season opens this Sunday in Algeria. And it is in Morocco and Tunisia that preparations are already underway to welcome the maximum number of Algerian tourists. Tourism professionals in these two neighboring countries do not hide their strategies to attract more by diversifying formulas, including during Ramadan. While Tunisia has the advantage of open land borders between the two countries, Morocco intends to make the most of air links to increase the number of Algerian tourists. The Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, expressed last Friday the kingdom's interest in the Algerian market, which he described as "promising", during a meeting in Fes (center) with operators from this neighboring country. According to Mr. Haddad, "nearly 90,000 Algerians" visited Morocco in 2012. "The Algerian market recorded significant growth last year", he said. While waiting for the reopening of land borders, the Moroccan Minister of Tourism wants to increase the number of air services between the two countries. "We need to have more air links not only between Casablanca and Algiers but also between other Algerian cities such as Oran and Constantine, and other Moroccan cities such as Fes, Marrakech and Agadir", he also declared. In mid-May, Morocco participated for the second time in the Algiers International Tourism and Travel Fair (SITEV) and, according to Mr. Haddad, the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) could open a representation in the Algerian capital, "in the event of a significant increase in the number of tourists" from this country. Morocco, which reached the 10 million visitor mark in 2012, has set itself the goal of being among the top 20 tourist destinations in the world by 2020. Tourism, the second largest provider of jobs, represents 8% of its GDP, and the kingdom is currently the leading destination outside the European Union for French and Spanish people, according to the Moroccan government.
Improving reception conditions in Tunisia
After recording 900,000 Algerian tourists in 2012, Tunisia wants to increase this figure to one million visitors in 2013, and thus return to the level reached before January 2011. If the vast majority of Algerian visitors choose the land route, mainly due to the high cost of air tickets from Air Algeria and Tunisair, Tunisia nevertheless plans to increase services between the two countries. Tunisair, which has a daily flight to Algiers and two weekly flights to Oran, will double its capacity during the summer period. The company's forecasts for 2013 are around 100,000 passengers departing from Algeria. To this end, Tunisia is pulling out all the stops. It plans to launch a promotional campaign on several media (television, radio, print and online press) to promote the Tunisian destination to Algerian tourists, and also plans to improve reception and transit conditions at border posts. About 20% of Tunisians live off tourism revenue. The number of jobs in the sector, whose share in GDP is estimated at 7%, is estimated at 400,000 jobs, according to Jamal Gamra, the Tunisian Minister of Tourism, during his stay in Algiers at the head of the Tunisian delegation to the last SITEV. "We are ready to collaborate with Algeria and to seduce together, mainly the Asian market (Japanese and Chinese) to face competition. Algeria has an important role to play in the diversity of the tourist product, and the Algerian Sahara remains unparalleled", also declared the Tunisian Minister of Tourism.
Maghrebemergent.com
Published on June 1, 2013.
Posted online on June 7, 2013.
