IFTM Daily - Day 4

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 7
WE HAVE SOME OF AFRICA’S MOST
PRISTINE RESERVES AND NATIONAL
PARKS WITH OVER TWO MILLION
HECTARES OF SAVANNAHS AND
RAINFORESTS
Roger Kacou
Minister of Tourism,
Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire is
back as a destination on the world
stage as the Ivorian government
makes resources available to
develop infrastructure and support
international marketing efforts.
IFTM Top Resa is considered a priority
market for the National Office of Tourism
of Côte d’Ivoire. “We have a long-standing
historical relationship with France and it is a
natural move to be present at IFTM Top Resa
every year, especially as French inbound is
our top market next to the whole of Africa”,
explains Roger Kacou, Minister of Tourism.
“We use the opportunity of our presence at
the show to organise many meetings with
French tourism professionals, such as a
meeting to talk about marketing promotion
and cooperation with the President of SNAV,
Jean-Pierre Mas”, he adds.
Côte d’Ivoire remains a relatively small
destination when looking at numbers:
1.2 million foreign travellers in 2O15,
which includes business, leisure and VFR
travellers - but this is a steady market,
growing year after year. “Tourism is turning
into an important economic activity in our
country. Just imagine; it had a share of only
0.6% of our GDP in 2011. In 2014, it stood
already at 4.8% and we are now at over
5%”, says Kacou. “We believe that tourism
might, in the future, have a similar share of
GDP to cocoa, our largest industry, with a
GDP share of 12%”.
The Côte d’Ivoire government leverages two
main fields for the promotion of tourism.
First, the country has, since 2011, identified
the regions able to support the development
of the destination. “They are basically
ten areas ready to welcome international
travellers. Abidjan and its metropolitan area
is one, with Grand Bassam, a colonial city,
which is now listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage and is a precious cultural tourism
asset. We then have our 550 km long
coast, which is ideal for the development of
seaside tourism. It starts from Jacqueville,
in the proximity of Abidjan and stretches up
to Sassandra and San Pédro, two important
seaside resort cities”, adds the Minister. San
Pédro is already the country’s second most
important port and now has an international
airport. “Our coast is made of lagoons and
bays, offering safe conditions for travellers”,
explains the Minister.
Turning the Côte d’Ivoire
Into a Major Tourism
Destination in Africa
In the north, the government has identified
Kong and Korhogo as key cultural
destinations. Kong has a number of centuriesold
mosques while Korhogo is a destination
for the discovery of the Senoufos ethnic
people, who, says the Minister, are famed for
its dances as well as their handicrafts. “We
have indeed over 60 different ethnics living
in the country and we now work to see how
to promote this diversity.”
The Republic has also some beautiful national
parks. Taï National Park, in the south, is
probably the best known in the country. It is
listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and
has some of the last families of “intelligent
Chimpanzees”. The clever animals are even
able to crack nuts with a nutcracker! Another
important natural asset, and also a UNESCO
World Heritage site, is Comoe National Park
with its rare endemic animals. “We might not
be Kenya, but we have some of Africa’s most
pristine reserves and national parks with
over two million hectares of savannahs and
rainforests”, smiles Kacou.
The Minister says that to accompany the
development of tourism, the country’s
infrastructure has been greatly improved
since 2011: “We now have a motorway
linking Abidjan to Yamassoukro and are
currently building one between Abidjan and
San Pédro. We also opened six regional
airports within the country, all linked to
Abidjan by our national airline, Air Côte
d’Ivoire.”
The Ivorian people are an asset unto
themselves. “We have a great sense of
hospitality and also a good sense of humour.
I promise that we know how to make our
guests at ease and give them the best of our
country. Everyone is truly welcomed in our
country. I believe this is our most precious
asset”, concludes Kacou.
IFTM Daily • Friday 23 rd September 2016