The first tourist train bound for Angola hasn’t even arrived since it “set sail” from Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) on July 14th, and the country already has four more luxury trains confirmed between 2020 and 2021, one of which was chartered by a New Zealand/Australian operator, Angop learned today.
At a time when Angola is preparing to receive the first tourist train from Rovos Rail, a South African operator, which will enter through Luau, on the border, on the 26th of July, with fifty tourists, including South Africans, North Americans, English, Swiss, Dutch, Australians and New Zealanders, Rebeca Barreiros, coordinator of the Benguela Turismo/Alive Travel office, revealed to Angop that the country is beginning to be on the route of destinations for this segment.
He added that, between 2020 and 2021, four tourist train trips have already been confirmed for the route, departing from Dar Es Salaam, passing through Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the final destination being the city of Lobito, in the province from Benguela.
“During this period, in 2020, there are two trains, one arriving and one departing. And 2021 the same situation”, added the also tourism technician, ensuring that, at this moment, she has immediate confirmation with reservation requests for the four matches.
A staunch supporter of domestic tourism, the representative of Benguela Turismo even states that one of the 2021 departures has already been fully sold to a New Zealand/Australian tour operator, which puts Angola on the map of international tourism in the coming years.
Hence, Rebeca Barreiros highlights the interest of tour operators in bringing more tourists on board trains, which are already studying other routes for the future, which could, therefore, be included in the Benguela Railway (CFB) line and reconcile with other African destinations.
The official highlighted that it is an unprecedented tourist product in Angola, the result of the work that Benguela Turismo and the South African operator Rovos Rail have been developing since 2015, but it is also a reflection of the increasingly easy way to obtain Entry visas to Angola for tourists, through the Migration and Foreigners Service (SME) online platform.
“This ease of obtaining this visa online means that there is a great desire on the part of tourists to visit our country”, believes the interlocutor, in a markedly optimistic tone regarding the notoriety that this new segment could bring to the country, encouraging greater investment in the quality of the tourist and hotel offer.
It’s time for tourism in Angola
For tourism to happen in Angola, Rebeca Barreiros argues that it is necessary to improve the infrastructure of hotels and tourist attractions, many of which are inactive, including national parks, since, in her opinion, the visa situation is no longer a problem. obstacle for tourists who want to visit the country.
Reinforcing the idea that public and private companies have to work on this path, the manager lists other conditions in the path of domestic tourism in Angola, such as the price of airline tickets and the cost of hotels, although in the latter, however, she recognizes a slight drop in prices due to the devaluation of the national currency – the Kwanza.
This is exactly what made the coordinator of the Benguela Turismo office consider that at the moment it is much cheaper to visit Angola for those coming from abroad.
“We help with what we can: bringing tourists and raising awareness about improvements in the sector, but there is a lot of work to be done”, as he says. And he makes a point of stating that making Angola a tourist destination capable of responding to needs and demands is a challenge for everyone, so that the country can be on the same level as, for example, Kenya and South Africa, with notable progress in tourism internal.
“We are working together with several public entities so that things go well and that Angola is well regarded”, he highlights, highlighting the support of the Ministry of Tourism, the Migration and Foreigners Service, the National Police, the Ministry of Health, between others.
And the expectation, he says, is that the arrival of the luxury train will be the first step towards tourism in Angola developing much more quickly.
Rebeca looks “with a smile” at the arrival of tourist trains in the country as a lever. And he predicts: “Whoever leaves here will then tell operators in their country that after all, Angola is a safe country, where you can walk around, see different types of landscapes, and not that negative image of so many years”.
“If we don’t take advantage of the best we have, Angola will effectively not develop”, he warns, remembering that tourism is the economy of peace.
With seven days left to travel to reach Luau, on the border between Angola and the DRC, and twelve days until Lobito, its final destination, Rovos Rail’s luxury train is already in the spotlight in the province of Benguela.
Upon arriving at Luau, on the border, on the 26th of July, coming from Dar Es Salaam, with stops in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the train is expected to travel 1334 kilometers on the Benguela Railway line (CFB ) towards Lobito, where he will be stationed from the 30th of July to the 2nd of August, the date of his return to Tanzania.
To embark on this “epic adventure” aboard the luxurious Rovos Rail train, tourists spent US$20,000 each, and US$25,000 for two people.