Tourist promoter in Benguela highlights improvement in hotel supply

Launched in 2011, the Hotéis Angola platform is dedicated to promoting and marketing tourism in the country, currently hosting services from more than 110 hotel units in 18 provinces and more than 500 tourist attractions.

In an interview with ANGOP, the tourism promotion specialist considers that at the moment the quality level of the hotel chain is already acceptable, especially in Luanda, Benguela, Huíla, Namibe, Cuanza Sul and Malanje.

“We are not going to say that it is very good, because there are still several handicaps, but it is already acceptable in the main provinces dedicated to tourism”, admits Jorge Nunes, noting that other provinces, such as Huambo, Moxico, Bié and Lundas Norte and South still remains very depressed when it comes to tourism.

As for the province of Cabinda, he recognizes that it has immense potential in terms of tourism, but regrets that hotel units are still “limited to the business sector”.

According to him, the average annual occupancy rate in the main demand centers is around 55 to 60 percent, which means that there are still many hotel units that end up not being 100 percent occupied throughout the year.

However, he explains that Luanda is the main center for tourists and, therefore, on the main long weekends or special dates, hotels in Benguela, Huíla, Namibe and other provinces end up full, because demand is greater than the supply.

“And when this is the case, we have these constraints and we reach 100 percent occupancy rate at the level of all hotel units”, he observed, reporting that this occurs on four or five weekends a year, as, for the most part, of the year, hotel units have lower occupancy rates.

Be that as it may, Jorge Nunes noted that there is no city in the world prepared for when demand rates reach the same numbers as Angola on these special dates.

Hence the argument that, alongside hotels and resorts, it is necessary to work with other accommodation arrangements, namely guesthouses and residential accommodation, so that customers also choose to visit other areas instead of just looking at these periods for tourism.

Prices:

When asked about the costs of accommodation in a hotel, he assumed that the loss of purchasing power makes hotels expensive for the majority of the population at the moment, this is because the hotel and tourism sector continues to suffer the structural problems of economy.

“We don’t have stable electricity, water and other services, which means we always have to have alternatives”, he stressed.

Regarding the province of Benguela, as an example, Jorge Nunes says that there are hotel units ranging from 11 thousand kwanzas to 52 thousand kwanzas.

“There are hotel units that charge more than that, because they have a restaurant, gym, guaranteed internet, security, parking and swimming pool”, he noted, comparing that a one-bedroom apartment in a luxury aparthotel in Benguela costs 52 thousand kwanzas.

Still, the source thinks that for tourists coming from abroad, Angola is a cheap country, emphasizing that nowhere in the world does a hotel with the structure of Aparthotel Mil Cidades, in the city of Benguela, charge 27 euros per night.

In his analysis, everyone wants to do luxury tourism in a three or four star hotel, instead of opting for a residential hotel.