A recent report by the hotel association Jovago estimated that tourism in Senegal contributes to the local economy 300 billion CFA francs (EUR 453.5 million), according to its authors, an indication of the sector’s improving condition.
Tourism in Senegal is doing well according to the figures in the report, said Guillaume Pepin the general manager of the association.
The objective of this report is to make reliable and useful data available to journalists and professionals in the tourism and hospitality industries, explained the authors in the research.
“The study offers a positive portrayal of Senegal’s tourism placing it on the top of West African countries,” said Mr. Pepin.
“A single tourist spends EUR400 on average when visiting Senegal and the tourism sector currently earns around 300 billion CFA francs, ” he added.
Over the period 2013-2014, Senegal benefited from the average hotel occupancy rate of 35% across the country, with 3.5 days average stay compared to the 20% seen in other countries, according to Mr. Pepin, citing data of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
“Dakar holds 51% of the accommodation capacity compared to 20% for the Petite-Côte (small coast) and the Sine Saloum, 14% for Casamance and 15% for other areas of the country,” he noted.
The driving force behind Dakar’s tourism lies in the fact that the Senegalese capital is where business and leisure tourism meet. The area notably has several meeting and conference venues as well as beaches and historic sites.
However, it does give rise to certain challenges to be overcome for tourism to keep its promise, namely more than 50 thousand jobs in the current year according to Mr. Pepin.
Among these challenges are the lack of skilled labor in the hospitality and tourism sector, the lack of tour guides with extensive knowledge of Senegal’s history, the lack of infrastructure, especially in the interior of the country, the lack of promotion of Senegal as a travel destination, and the Senegalese people’s own lack of awareness when it comes to their tourist sites/attractions.
According to the head of the Jovago association, stakeholders should also focus on the 7 Senegalese sites included on the UNESCO’s heritage list to further promote tourism in Senegal.
The Stone Circles of Senegambia (Kaolack), the Saloum Delta’s national park, Gorée Island (Dakar), the Bassari country with its Bassari cultural landscapes, peul and Bedik, the National Bird Park in Djoudj and the Niokolo-Koba National Park are all inscribed on the list.
The development of nature tourism in Casamance, would bring a lot more to the Senegalese economy, if the area had a better equipped healthcare infrastructure, reported the Jovago officials.
They also believe that Senegal can count on e-tourism, since 7.5 million people have access to the Internet, as well as over 50% of the hotels, highlights the report, whereby efforts are needed as only 11% of transactions are made online, compared to 98% of payments made at the hotel.
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Showing posts with label Jovago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jovago. Show all posts
Friday, 4 March 2016
Thursday, 3 March 2016
NIGERIA; Nigeria Has Highest Room Rates In Africa
Revenue from hotel occupancy in Nigeria is expected to hit $401 million (about N80.2 billion) this year, Jovago, Africa’s largest hotel booking portal, has projected. Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Kushal Dutta, disclosed this at a breakfast meeting with the media in Lagos.
Dutta, who advocated greater attention from government to boost the industry growth, also maintained that the figure would further rise to $442 million (N88.4 billion) by the end of 2017.
He said: “Although, we expect the sector to grow by double-digit rates in 2018-19, we also foresee a periodic drop in the short-term.
For the long term period, we expect the situation to improve as we record a 6.6 per cent compound annual rate to 2.2 million rooms in 2019 from 1.6 million rooms in 2014.”
He explained that with Nigeria having the highest room rates in Africa, it is expected that the prices will keep growing with projected increases averaging 2.7 per cent compounded annually over the next four years.
Also, he said the number of hotel rooms would more than double during the next five years with that growth occurring predominantly in Lagos. He said: “There will be an estimated 10, 000 rooms in 2017, up from 8, 800 in 2014, a 20.7 per cent compound annual increase.
This increase will be well below the expected growth in room availability and occupancy rates will plunge, falling to 25.3 per cent by 2018 before edging up to 26.8 per cent in 2019.”
According to him, while there are still a lot of latent opportunities in the Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism industry, the government has yet to give the industry the attention it is required.
Dutta, who advocated greater attention from government to boost the industry growth, also maintained that the figure would further rise to $442 million (N88.4 billion) by the end of 2017.
He said: “Although, we expect the sector to grow by double-digit rates in 2018-19, we also foresee a periodic drop in the short-term.
For the long term period, we expect the situation to improve as we record a 6.6 per cent compound annual rate to 2.2 million rooms in 2019 from 1.6 million rooms in 2014.”
He explained that with Nigeria having the highest room rates in Africa, it is expected that the prices will keep growing with projected increases averaging 2.7 per cent compounded annually over the next four years.
Also, he said the number of hotel rooms would more than double during the next five years with that growth occurring predominantly in Lagos. He said: “There will be an estimated 10, 000 rooms in 2017, up from 8, 800 in 2014, a 20.7 per cent compound annual increase.
This increase will be well below the expected growth in room availability and occupancy rates will plunge, falling to 25.3 per cent by 2018 before edging up to 26.8 per cent in 2019.”
According to him, while there are still a lot of latent opportunities in the Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism industry, the government has yet to give the industry the attention it is required.
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia On Her Way To Become Chain Hotel Hub
Ethiopia is ranked among the top 10 leading markets in Africa for international chain hotel developments while Egypt leads the group with 18 new hotel chains being developed. Currently, Ethiopia gripped 8th position with 84 per cent hotel development pipeline and under construction disclosed the survey presented at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Addis Ababa.
The hotel business boom in Africa is topping the global market. Taking its share from the African market, Ethiopia has eight new global brand hotels under pipeline. Across the continent, 270 hotel chains are in the pipeline with the expected number of rooms, exceeding 30,000. Egypt is followed by Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Libya, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda. Although the leading nations are mainly from northern Africa, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are gaining momentum in hotel development projects.
The information obtained from Bench Events indicates that, out of the top 10 global hotel operators, Hilton Worldwide leads with about 7,250 rooms in new hotels. However, Marriott leaps forward, leading with the development of 36 new hotels across the continent. Hotel Partners Africa also identified the top ten opportunities for investors keen to develop hotels in Africa. In West Africa, Nigeria presents the biggest opportunity, with the strongest economy on the continent with 34 branded hotel bedrooms per million population. Ghana with 59 bedrooms and Cote D’Ivoire with 61 bedrooms also present great opportunities with very strong demand.
Rwanda, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia present 29, 48, 63, 79, 122 bedrooms respectively. Despite the existence of great development potential in the region, the political and other risks tend to suggest that new international investment will be limited in the near future. However, Libya continues to attract investors despite the political unrest. Project returns also identified to bring high revenue.
Hotel values in the majority of these locations have been strongly growing. In African countries, 76 per cent of hotel investment returns have been higher than combined averages across other property investments. African countries have shown significant annual growth over the last six years including Zambia and Ghana at 6.5 per cent, Tanzania 6.3 per cent and Angola 6.2 per cent from the most under-supplied opportunity markets. Ethiopia is also listed among the top markets with several deals in process and new chain hotels venturing into the untapped hotel development. Hilton signed a deal for upscale Hilton Awassa Resort & Spa which is expected to open in 2020. Marriott International in partnership with Sunshine Business, opened Africa’s first Marriott Executive Apartments in Ethiopia’s capital.
“Hotel developments prove that it’s an exciting time for Ethiopia which is being transformed from the traditional market to a much developed and less riskier business environment. Investment by major operators evidenced that luxury is coming to the growing nation,” said Estelle Verdier, Managing Director of Jovago East and Southern Africa.
On the other hand, hosting the glamorized and biggest AHIF, which was attended by major global industry players and policy makers, placed Ethiopia in a better position to attract more investments. During the event, major brand operators such as Wyndham Group, Ramada Addis, Inter Continental Group, Accor Group, Western International Inn linked management agreements to run star-rated hotels which would open doors between end 2015 and 2018. The AHIF has also been seen as fresh negotiations expected to bring more chain hotels to Ethiopia.
The hotel business boom in Africa is topping the global market. Taking its share from the African market, Ethiopia has eight new global brand hotels under pipeline. Across the continent, 270 hotel chains are in the pipeline with the expected number of rooms, exceeding 30,000. Egypt is followed by Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Libya, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda. Although the leading nations are mainly from northern Africa, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are gaining momentum in hotel development projects.
The information obtained from Bench Events indicates that, out of the top 10 global hotel operators, Hilton Worldwide leads with about 7,250 rooms in new hotels. However, Marriott leaps forward, leading with the development of 36 new hotels across the continent. Hotel Partners Africa also identified the top ten opportunities for investors keen to develop hotels in Africa. In West Africa, Nigeria presents the biggest opportunity, with the strongest economy on the continent with 34 branded hotel bedrooms per million population. Ghana with 59 bedrooms and Cote D’Ivoire with 61 bedrooms also present great opportunities with very strong demand.
Rwanda, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia present 29, 48, 63, 79, 122 bedrooms respectively. Despite the existence of great development potential in the region, the political and other risks tend to suggest that new international investment will be limited in the near future. However, Libya continues to attract investors despite the political unrest. Project returns also identified to bring high revenue.
Hotel values in the majority of these locations have been strongly growing. In African countries, 76 per cent of hotel investment returns have been higher than combined averages across other property investments. African countries have shown significant annual growth over the last six years including Zambia and Ghana at 6.5 per cent, Tanzania 6.3 per cent and Angola 6.2 per cent from the most under-supplied opportunity markets. Ethiopia is also listed among the top markets with several deals in process and new chain hotels venturing into the untapped hotel development. Hilton signed a deal for upscale Hilton Awassa Resort & Spa which is expected to open in 2020. Marriott International in partnership with Sunshine Business, opened Africa’s first Marriott Executive Apartments in Ethiopia’s capital.
“Hotel developments prove that it’s an exciting time for Ethiopia which is being transformed from the traditional market to a much developed and less riskier business environment. Investment by major operators evidenced that luxury is coming to the growing nation,” said Estelle Verdier, Managing Director of Jovago East and Southern Africa.
On the other hand, hosting the glamorized and biggest AHIF, which was attended by major global industry players and policy makers, placed Ethiopia in a better position to attract more investments. During the event, major brand operators such as Wyndham Group, Ramada Addis, Inter Continental Group, Accor Group, Western International Inn linked management agreements to run star-rated hotels which would open doors between end 2015 and 2018. The AHIF has also been seen as fresh negotiations expected to bring more chain hotels to Ethiopia.
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