Benguela - The chairman of the Benguela Hotel and Tourism Association, Cláudio Silva, defends greater private investment in the hotel, restaurant and similar sectors, to respond to the growing tourist demand in the province.
Currently, Benguela has 230 accommodation units, including hotels, guesthouses, lodges and tourist villages, in addition to more than a thousand restaurants and pubs.
In an interview with ANGOP about the current state of the sector, the head of the Benguela Hotel and Tourism Association (AHTUB) highlights the need for more investment to awaken the hotel chain from lethargy, thus giving another boost to tourism.
According to Cláudio Silva, the province's hotel network, including restaurants, has not received large investments for over 15 years, which contrasts with Benguela's tourism potential.
“These hotel units were invested more than 15 years ago and since then everything has stopped”, he highlighted, noting the growth in population and tourist demand.
Despite recognizing the desire of hotel operators to boost the sector, the official complains that the class faces obstacles in accessing credit from commercial banks.
Cláudio Silva thinks that the main problem has to do with the “very high” interest rates, which generally vary from 25 to 30 percent, which means that projects for opening hotels and restaurants remain shelved.
Still, he believes that this situation could change soon, as there are prospects for the hotel and tourism sector to move into the economic area and, thus, large investments could emerge.
“To this day, the hotel industry is still in the social sector and we are still blocked from having credit with subsidized interest”, he complains, however, he is optimistic that large investments will appear in favor of the sector, thanks to the policy that the State has implemented.
More tourist attractions
Cláudio Silva also said that AHTUB is working on a project that aims to open more tourist attractions in the province of Benguela, to help project tourism from the coast to the interior.
“If we notice, the existing tourist attractions date back to colonial times. We are talking about the 60s and 70s”, he stressed, adding that the beaches continue to attract many people, when there are other spots to explore.
For him, the tourist areas south of Benguela will be transformed into tourist attractions, because they have enough potential to 'compete with large countries that live solely on tourism and the sea'.
Emphasizing that the interior is part of the hotel chain's development agenda, the interviewee defends the involvement of local society in projects that aim to boost the sector.
On the other hand, he said that AHTUB will work with the administrations to set up a tourist information point in each municipality, where national or foreign tourists will have all the information about the tourist places to visit. JH/CRB/DOJ
