Algeria, country of contrasts, located at the North of Africa, extend on a surface, of 2 381 741 Km2. Some 6000 Km long borders, separate it from Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, the Occidental Sahara , Niger, Mali, and from Libya.
In North, the Mediterranean Sea bathes on 1200 km of dimensions, to the South the immutable desert extends on nearly two million square kilometers.
Its relief composes of four sets: coastal chains of Tell; a succession of plates and high plateaus; a southernmost mountainous band, prolongation of the High Moroccan Atlas; the area of the Sahara with its mountainous solid masses. Algeria profits from a Mediterranean climate: the sun is shining all along the year and the winters are soft.
The natural assets and the cultural, historical inheritance and civilisation of Algeria, authorizes the practice of many tourist activities referring to:
| Coastal tourism |
Cultural and sporting tourism |
| Tourism of full air and mountain |
Saharan tourism |
| Thermal tourism |
Drive out and fishes |
These multiple tourist activities can be practised during all the year of the tourist plans where exoticism disputes the high-speed motorboat has the beauty of the areas:
| The coastal band |
The valley of the Wadi Me Zab |
| Mounts of Aurès |
Hoggar and Tassili |
| The area of Kabylie |
Touat and Gourara |
The whole of these areas have 174 zones of Tourist Expansion (ZTE) classified by decree num 88-232 of November 05, 1988. Of a total surface of 47 073 ha, these zones set out again on the own territory in the following way:
- 140 littoral ZET out of 14 Wilayas and representing a surface of 34 852.86 ha.
- 13 ZET located in Wilayas interior and the high plains and covering 3 480.60 ha
- 20 ZET located at the level of 08 Wilayas of the south and the great south of a surface of 9 501.09 ha
As 202 thermal springs which were listed, for their physicochemical characters.
These sources are classified as follows:
- 136 thermo mineral sources of local importance
- 55 thermo-mineral sources of regional importance
- 11 sources of national importance
The history, the geography, the climate, the potentialities, all contributes to make Algeria a destination headlight of tourism in Europe-Mediterranean area.
Strategy of development of tourism horizon 2010:
The strategy of development of tourism established until the horizon 2010 and proposes to sit a policy of State bases on the adhesion of the whole of the institutions directly or indirectly implied in the design, the development and the promotion of the tourist activities.
It falls under the duration and is based on the following elements:
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- A comprehensive framework aiming at the durable development of tourism.
- A master line delimiting the zones to be emphasized in priority has each zone.
- A clear and rational regulation of regional planning.
- A policy of valorization of human resources.
- Standards and a regulation specific to the sector in order to maintain the levels desired of the environmental quality.
- A broad association of the population has all at all the stages of planning, implementation and the management of the tourist services.
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At term, these objectives aim:
- Increase in the capacities of tourist lodging
- The rehabilitation and levelling of the existing hotel park.
- The diversification of the offer
- Improvement of the image
- The insertion of the "Algerie destination" in the international tourist tours.
- The creation and increase in employment
- The adopted strategy aims in figures a:
- The realization of a contribution in capacity of additional tourist lodging of about 50 000 beds in a first phase.
- A contribution of deprives in investment of about 75 billion DA.
- The increase in tourist flows which would pass from 174 000 in 1999 to 1.2 million foreign tourists in 2010 and from 600 000 to a million for the national visitors nonresident.
- Creation of 25 000 direct employment and 75 000 jobs indirect.
- Re-entries in currencies of an estimated amount towards the horizon in 2010 about 1.6 billion dollars US.
Weight of the sector in the economy
With the title of the year 2004, the sector of tourism benefited from an operational budget of 722,253 million DA, and a budget of equipment of 09 million DA, which is a total of 731,253 million DA, representing an unimportant percentage of the GDP. The envelope is very weak compared to the other sectors.
The share of the sector of tourism in the national effort of creation of richness, measured by the added value, remains weak and relatively stable during all the period of 2001 to 2004; it is located between 1.2 % and 1.4 % of the total budget of the State.
In current prices, the Added Value (AV) of the sector of hotel trade (including the cafes and restaurants) passed from 50 018.9 million DA in 2001 to 64 640.6 million DA at 2004, thus recording a total increase (in current price) of 25.23 %, corresponding to an average of annual growth of 7.79 %. The rise of the Added Value of 2004 compared to year 2003 rises to 5.53 % (lower than three last years the average tendency).
The amount of the tourist receipts, at the end of the year 2004, was located at 178.5 million USD against 111 million USD, that is to say a very big rise of 60.8 %. The share of this set within the set of the services recorded a significant rise, passing from 7.64 % in 2003 to 9.63 % in 2004.
In spite of the increase in the tourist entries these last years, the account "travels" (Payment balances) remains overdrawn. In other words, the amount in currencies spent by the nationals abroad (340.9 million USD) remains higher than that of the currencies generated by the flow of entries of non residents (178.5 million USD).
Investments in the sector of Tourism
The investments in the sector of tourism realized in 2004 are estimated at 43.1 billion DA against 41 billion DA for the previous year, marking a rise of 5.1 %.
The sector of tourism includes 288 projects under development in 2004, for a total envelope of 43.1 billion DA mentioned above, generating a capacity of 27 292 places/beds and 92325 employment.
However it is important to announce that 196 projects are on holds which were to increase the hotel capacities of almost 15370 places beds and to offer 4920 additional working stations.
In 2004, nearly 47 additional travel agencies were created. Currently Algeria counts 638 travel agencies, that is to say an increase of 7.95 % compared to the previous year. The established post recorded to itself also a rise of 9.7 % in 2004 compared to 2003, and is at a level of 1064 people (against 970 in 2003).
Within the framework of their activities, these agencies received in 2004 a number of 199 960 tourists of which 93.37 % are Algerian residents.
Parallel to the increase in the number of travel agencies in 2004 knew an evolution as regards infrastructure of lodging; nearly 42 additional hotels are in exploitation, that is to say a progression of 4 % compared to the previous year. The hotel park includes in 2004 the number of 1084 units.
The capacity available reached 82 034 places/beds at the end of 2004, against 77 473 in 2003, that is to say an additional capacity of 4561 place/beds, corresponding to an increase of 5.9 %. It should be noted that 71.3 % of these capacities raise of the sector deprives, on the one hand it represents hardly 3.75 % and on the other hand its hotel capacities recorded a significant fall of 35.56 % in 2004 compared to 2003.
From 2001 to 2004, the number of employment in the infrastructures of lodging passed from 8222 to 9325 employees, marking a total rise of 13.4 % and an average annual increase in 4.28 %.
Being the restaurants classified according to international standards', at the end of the year 2004, their number was at 294 units against 220 in 2001, posting a total rise of 33.64 % and a rise of 11.36 % of 2003 to 2004.
It is important to announce that employment in the classified restaurants recorded a significant reduction in 17.72 % in 2004; it passed from 970 employments in 2003 to 801 in 2004.
