Luanda, Õct. 7, 2025 (Lusa) - Tour operators said on Tuesday that they considered tourism in Angola to be "an uncut diamond" with enough raw material to boost the sector, but emphasised that the lack of funding is an obstacle to its development.
The Angolan government held the Angola International Tourism Exchange (Bitur) in Luanda, a tourism promotion event that brought together companies, operators, investors and professionals from the sector to promote business, networking and cultural experiences.
Jorge Loureiro, from Marave Indústria de Confeitções, a company that has been present in Angola for approximately 40 years, participated in the fair to showcase his products to the public, particularly the hotel sector.
Approximately ten years ago, the company established a factory in the Viana district, supplying hotels and other companies with uniforms, swimwear, and bed linen.
For the businessman, tourism in Angola is "a diamond yet to be cut", with enough raw material to leverage this "fantastic industry", which can bring "enormous added value to the country".
"When there is political will, the results appear, but they don't appear in the timeframe that we need or want them to, there is too much inertia," emphasised Jorge Loureiro, speaking to Lusa.
For the president of the Association of Hotels and Resorts of Angola, Ramiro Barreira, the sector still has needs, essentially "a good business environment," in terms of economic policy and financing.
"We need our sector to be financed with credits that actually help companies to grow, and we would like the rates to at least be very low," he emphasised.
Ramiro Barreira emphasised the need for the National Bank of Angola to establish rules for financing, not only for hotels, but also for travel agencies and tour operators, to support companies' growth.
"We think we're on the right track. This stock exchange is still a little small, but it's a good initiative that we have to congratulate, because it's the start of a project," he emphasised.
The association's leader emphasised that in the hotel industry we need to increase the number of customers, given that occupancy rates are still "very low in certain areas of the country", including Luanda (...), with an average of 38%", and that we need to "quickly reach 60%".
Regarding human capital, Ramiro Barreira said that the sector has "a lot of staff at the moment", but that they are in other areas than their training, because tourism doesn't have the "financial capital to pay them and create the conditions".
Agnelo António, a tour guide for eight years, works for Go Tours and has participated in dozens of excursions in the provinces of Luanda, Namibe, Huíla, and Malanje.
According to Agnelo António, the provinces of Luanda and Malanje are the most visited by tourists. Still, Namibe is also gaining popularity due to its interesting spots, such as the Piambo and Soba beaches, and the Arcos. At the same time, there is a lack of publicity for other tourist attractions.
The operator, who trained in Angola seven years ago, said that there are few professional tourist guides, pointing out that tourism, previously dominated by foreigners, especially Portuguese, Brazilians and Cubans, has been growing for two years.
The lack of historical content is one of the obstacles to his profession, according to Agnelo António, who stresses that tourists often question the stories he tells about the places he visits. He also believes that routes need to be defined for tourists.
Mário António, from Go Tours, said that tourism in Angola has developed a lot, but that there are still problems with the costs of land and air transport, which increase the prices of tourist packages, and that the government needs to analyse with the transport companies the possibility of readjusting prices for operators in the sector.
NME/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
