Doha: During their visit to Algeria, the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) discussed with the Algerian Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts H E Yassin Hammadi, and Minister of Housing, Urbanization and the City H E Mohamed Tariq Belaribi the investment opportunities in the tourism and real estate sectors.

The Qatari delegation was headed by QBA’s Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, and members including Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Thani, Mohammed Moataz Al Khayyat, Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani, member of the Qatari Hotels Association, Tariq Al Sayed, Managing Director & CEO of Al Rayan Tourism Investment Company, and Rashid Al Mansouri, CEO of Aamal Holding Group, in the presence of the Qatari Ambassador to Algeria H E Abdulaziz Al Naama.

The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism where Hammadi gave a comprehensive presentation on tourism and hotel investment opportunities and partnership in the tourism sector.

Hammadi also stressed the strong relations already existing between the two countries, and added that “both sides renewed their will to strengthen and intensify efforts to develop partnership and cooperation relations in a way that serves the interests of the two countries”.

He also presented a number of areas ready for investment, including the Msida area near Annaba and the Tunisian border, and the Ghar Daya area, in addition to other areas for medical tourism, hotel management and partnership with the public sector which owns a number of hotels.

Also speaking during the event, Minister Belaribi affirmed that Algeria welcomes Qatari businessmen and actual partnerships between the two countries, especially in the sectors of tourism, handicrafts, housing and urbanisation, in line with the two countries’ vision to create a strong partnership, especially after the visit of the Algerian President H E Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Qatar in February 2022.

Belaribi added: “Today, a new investment law is being studied, which will allow foreign and Algerian investors to invest freely. We have attractive areas close to airports and transportation is available, and we have a new philosophy to create a new Algeria far from bureaucracy. The goal is to complete projects and overcome obstacles”.

During the meeting, Sheikh Faisal suggested the establishment of an integrated touristic city, including a tourist port, and a corniche that attracts visitors through the establishment of a public joint stock company in which businessmen from the two countries and others interested in Algeria contribute.

He added that desert tourism, with small hotels in the desert governorates, will have a major role in promoting desert tourism. He stressed that the global trend is to transfer state-owned hotels to the private sector for their management.

Also speaking at the meeting, Al Sayed spoke about his company’s investments abroad and said: “We now own 36 hotels, the latest of which is a hotel in Italy, on an area of 100,000 square metres”. Al Sayed pointed out that all countries offer incentives to invest in tourism, hoping that Algeria will follow the example of European countries so as to develop the tourism sector in the Arab world, especially Algeria, which has a large coast of more than 1,200 km.

The discussions touched on the issue of tourist visas, where the Minister of Tourism indicated that there is a tendency now to cooperate with tourism agencies in order to facilitate visas within 72 hours, and there is a future presidential approach towards the electronic visa.

The two parties agreed to form a working team of technicians to study the available projects to start practically laying the first foundations for investments. The teams included representations from the ministries of tourism and housing.

Also a number of touristic resorts were visited in the capital and the Cherraqa region, including a visit to the city of Ghar Daya to see the existing resorts as well as the city of Wahran, where there are important tourism projects, especially with the city preparing to host the Mediterranean Games, where a new solar-powered airport has been opened, and considered a precedent in African airports.

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