Algeria Unveils Ambitious Tourism Plan to Rival Morocco’s 14.5 Million Visitors

While Morocco, a tourist country, welcomed 14.5 million visitors in 2023, Algeria, larger and richer, only welcomed 3.3 million foreign tourists, according to the Algerian Ministry of Tourism. According to tourism professionals in Morocco, tourism and travel generate 700,000 direct jobs in the kingdom, and many more indirect jobs, far from the 500 jobs created in Algeria in 2021, according to the Statista website.

The neighbor to the east now has great ambitions for the sector. Its tourism office aims to attract 12 million tourists by 2030, a four-fold increase, reports Daily Mail. "To achieve this, we, as the tourism and traditional industry sector, are seeking to encourage investments, provide facilities to investors, build tourist and hotel facilities," said Saliha Nacerbay, general manager of the National Tourism Office, at the International Tourism and Travel Fair held in Algiers from May 30 to June 2.

Algeria plans to build hotels and renovate and modernize existing ones. About 2,000 tourism projects had been approved so far, with 800 currently under construction, the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism said. It is also renovating its historical sites, with 249 sites intended for tourism development. About 70 sites have been prepared and restoration plans are underway for 50 additional sites.