Luanda – Aspects related to railway tourism in the interior of the country, through the main branch lines, dominated the audience granted this Monday by the Minister of Hotels and Tourism, Márcio Daniel, to the owner of the South African tourist train “Rovos Rail”, Rohan Rovos.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, the Angolan minister said that he had addressed, among other things, the great tourist potential that exists to be explored on the railway line in the national territory, having highlighted the quality of the railway infrastructure that is internationally recognized.
According to the minister, there is an urgent need to make greater use of the railway, which, in his opinion, involves not only the economic and commercial perspective, but also tourism exploration, which should be carried out by the main world-class specialists.
Since 2019, he added, the country has had an international line that is being operated by the “Rovos Rail” train, which goes to several countries on the African continent.
He pointed out that the next challenge for this company, in addition to international travel, is the introduction of tourist tours in the interior of the country, which could spark the interest of tourists, given the international certification of the airports of Catumbela, in the province of Benguela, and Mukanka, in Huíla.
Márcio Daniel announced that he is also interacting with national businesspeople, with a view to challenging them to implement, in the public-private modality, tourist rail tours.
Regarding the tourist activity of the Rovos Rail train, he said that it is consolidated, but more needs to be done, since the infrastructure is of the quality to be better explored.
In turn, Rohan Rovos said that he faces the challenge of investing in rail tourism in the Lobito corridor with expectation, since the region will gain an international airport, which will help with the profitability of his business.
He highlighted the quality of the country's railway and indicated that his locomotive will return to national territory in July.
Rovos Rail is a private company operating in the rail transport sector, headquartered at the historic "Capital Park" station in Pretoria (South Africa), whose luxury train was in Angola last July, for the fourth time, coming from Tanzania. Its first stay in the country was 2019. LDN/VC/DAN/DOJ
