Ivorian tourism is moving towards new shores that the Ivorian Minister of Tourism describes as “spring” with a focus on major infrastructure projects for reception and leisure.
The latest is the amusement park project unveiled this January 30 by Siandou Fofana. The new leisure area presented as the “first Disney Park Africa” will emerge after the next three months, according to the Ivorian minister. “The feasibility study is complete” and the work should start “in this month of February,” he said.
Other projects are announced to strengthen the tourism offer. According to the minister, the Ivorian capital will host a Ritz-Carlton hotel and a Four Seasons in the upscale community of Cocody and two others, a Kempiski hotel and a Palmeraie hotel (carried by the Moroccan group Palmeraie) will be created in Plateau, the center Business.
The airport zone of Abidjan will see the construction of a new Novotel hotel of 200 rooms and the establishment of the brand of Appart-Hôtel Adagio which plans to build 110 apartments.
Also, the beautiful seaside city of Assinie – a hundred kilometers east of Abidjan – favorite holiday resort of the Abidjan bourgeoisie with its immaculate fine sand will see the construction of a hotel 5 stars. In addition, a tourist town is being planned in Sassandra, another seaside town at 270 km west of Abidjan.
To accompany the development of the tourism sector, it is 3 000 billion FCFA of investments that are needed by 2020, said Siandou Fofana. An ambition that will be supported by the establishment of an investment fund and a proposed sovereign fund. The goal is to make tourism the third pillar of the Ivorian economy.
According to estimates, the country has hosted, in 2016, about 2 million tourists including 1,5 million international tourists.
