Côte d’Ivoire proposes $5.8bn tourism project

Cote d’Ivoire Minister of Tourism, Siandou Fofana, on 25 April 2019 presented a strategy document aimed at making Côte d’Ivoire Africa’s fifth biggest tourism destination from 2025 to the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), and sought its support to implement the plan.

The document entitled Sublime Côte d’Ivoire was presented to the AfDB’s vice-president responsible for the private sector, infrastructure and industrialization, Pierre Guislain, at the headquarters in Abidjan.

"We have come to share this new vision for Côte d’Ivoire with you and to secure your help and financial support. We need your help to pool resources to carry this project out," Fofana said, adding that the strategy will rest on nine new flagship projects and would require a $5.8bn investment.

"One of these is the ‘Abidjan Business City’, which will be a central point for holding conventions in Côte d’Ivoire. We do not currently have a conference centre and we do not have a hall with the capacity to accommodate 5,000 people. There is, therefore, a need to move quickly in that regard.

“We will also have a beautiful beach for all, with a 550-km coastline that has yet to be exploited. In addition, we will build a 100-hectare leisure park to be a place of entertainment for the sub-region, and develop press trips and seven flagship tourist areas.”

Other projects envisaged under the strategy include strengthening of the tourism code, establishing additional tourist attractions with a land reserve of 6,000 hectares, the creation of a bank of tourism-sector projects and redesigning of a tourism ‘one-stop shop,’ strengthening of security and health care, development of the aviation sector, increase of airport passenger flow to three million, and training and certification of 230,000 sector professionals.

"All this will drive employment and our intention is to create 375,000 new jobs. From 2025, we plan to welcome four to five million tourists (there were 3.08 million in 2016 and 3.47 million in 2017) to make this sector the fourth economic pillar of the country and to make Côte d’Ivoire the fifth biggest tourism power on the continent and the joint leader in African business tourism," Fofana added.

Responding, Guislain commended Côte d'Ivoire’s progress in the tourism sector, saying it was essential for investors, reminded Fofana of the AfDB’s sound relationship with Cote d’Ivoire, and described the visit and its subject matter as important.