ANGOLA GROWS The hospitality sector seeks to occupy its space in Angola’s GDP
Angola wants to compete on an equal footing with the rest of the African countries that, without oil, have tourism as one of the main job and income generating activities for the public coffers.
This is why investments are being made to expand the hotel chain by taking steps to reduce prices and improve the quality of service.
Along these lines, the country has recently updated much of the sector’s regulatory legislation with the ultimate goal of “making life easier” for market operators and service recipients.
Beaches as spectacular as Mussulo make Angola a very attractive tourist destination
In 2002, after proclaiming peace, the country took the route of Africa’s main tourist destinations, which led to the modernization and expansion of the country’s hotel chain and the updating of all legislation in the sector.
By decree, the Executive updated the legal framework to facilitate the installation and operation of tourism infrastructure, food complexes and travel and tourism agencies. The goal is to modernize the sector, create new jobs and earn more income for the state.
The advantages offered by the new legislation to hotel operators and hotel users are combined with other variables, such as the natural beauty of the different regions of Angola and a modern hotel chain.
Public investments have also been made in the sector, which, along with those made in other fields such as energy, water, roads and telecommunications, boost the country’s tourism potential.
FIGURES TOURISM
The Government of Angola expects that in the medium term, by 2020, the tourism industry will contribute 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to US $ 4 billion. Currently, the sector represents only 0.34%.
With 187 hotels and 1,200 similar establishments, Angola offers 24,390 rooms to the visitor (with a total of 32,844 beds).
Currently, the country has over 4,000 restaurants, 200 travel agencies and over 200 car rentals, which complete the logistics offer.
In 2015, the country was a destination for 592,500 tourists, whose spending reverted by 10% on the state budget.
And we must not forget that the sector employs about 220,000 people.
In April, the Economic Commission of the Council of Ministers approved the 2016/2017 Tourism Operational Plan, in accordance with the 2011/2020 Master Plan and the Strategic Development Plan for the year 2025.
The plan includes, among others, a greater diffusion of the country’s tourism potential in the main tourist markets, enriching the offer of tourist services and improving urban and environmental quality.
In 2015, about
600,000 tourists
they chose Angola as their destination
To assess the benefits of tourism in the national economy, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism intends to create a national satellite account, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The plan also foresees the increase of tourist events, the construction of hospitality schools in all provinces of the country, the creation of tourist information points, a point of sale for hotel, restaurant and travel agency licenses. It is estimated that within seven years Angola will attract over four million tourists a year and create one million jobs.
The Minister of Hotels and Tourism, Paulino Baptista, admits that this goal could be achieved much earlier, as the country begins to receive tourists from international cruises.
There are already two recent cases of international cruises in Angolan waters, which docked in Namibe and Luanda. In the case of Luanda, within two years, the capital will become part of the world list of cities for cruise entry and departure. Currently, and since 2012, it is just a passing city.
PUBLIC INVESTMENT
To reduce the cost of hotel services, the Government has invested in improving national production, roads, energy and drinking water supply systems, and training personnel for the sector.
Structural projects in the energy sector, such as Lauca, Cambambe II and the Soyo Combined Cycle Plant, as well as the restoration of the road network, are also expected to have a significant impact on prices.
QUALIFIED PEOPLE
Linked to the quality of service, the qualification of people working in the sector is a very important point. For some time, there has been a noticeable increase in the supply of professional and academic courses with a professional career in the hospitality and tourism sector, which, on the other hand, is very well paid.
Hotel Terminus in Lobito
As a job-creating industry, the hospitality and tourism industry plays an important role in the national staff training plan. In this line, the Ministry of Higher Education decided to create the Higher School of Hospitality and Tourism, framed at the University Ag
This project is the result of a partnership with two prestigious companies, Lausanne Hospitality Consulting and Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, both with solid experience in the field of hotel staff training.
On the other hand, in 2015 the school year of formation of the Higher Hotel and Restaurant School (EHR) was opened, attributed to the Ministry of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security. EHC provided 765 vacancies for initial and continuing education courses.
The offer is varied in the areas of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism, travel agency technicians, entertainment for events, tour guide, reception, visitor services, kitchen, bakery and bakery, and restaurant and bar.
The average course duration is three years, two theoretical training in EHR laboratories and six months internship in a hotel or restaurant unit. The technical courses last a total of nine months, three months of theoretical and hands-on training in HME laboratories, three months of training in a real work environment where students are paid, and another three months of hospitality and restaurant internships.
INSURANCE COOPERATION MORE THAN 6,000 JOBS
This year will be inaugurated the first hotels of more than 80 that will finish their work before 2017, under an agreement signed in 2015 between Accor, the world’s largest hotel chain, and the Angolan company AAA Activos.
In total, 83 new hotels will add 6,344 rooms to major cities.
These complexes will be opened in Luanda, Benguela, Sumbe, Lubango and Uíge.
The offer covers all segments of the luxury hotel market as well as the economy, including midsize. Under the banner of Ibis Styles – cheaper – will open 27 hotels, 22 Mercure brand and one of super luxury: Sofitel.
With regard to employment, which is one of the strategic axes of the sector’s development plan, it should be noted that the number of new jobs will exceed 6,000.
TRAINING AND EMPLOYABILITY
In light of the agreement signed in 2015, during French President François Hollande’s visit to Angola, AccorHotels also plans to implement a youth training plan in Angola to work in areas ranging from catering to hotel management.
Under the agreement, Accor will manage hotels, train Angolan staff and provide hospitality services at all units in accordance with international quality standards.
In Africa, AccorHotels, whose mainland and Indian Ocean headquarters are located in Casablanca (Morocco), operates in 18 countries and has over 10,000 employees and 94 hotels, from the Maghreb to South Africa.
In 2014, he signed 12 new contracts, representing about 2,000 new rooms. In 2015, it began expanding to Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast.
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