Algeria is one of the most popular North African nations. It boats of a wide range of beautiful features including spectacular deserts, long Mediterranean coastline and unspoiled mountains that attract many tourists each year. The country also boats of many tourist attractions including Algiers, Cirta which is the capital city of the kingdom of Numidia, Belzna national park, Babors Mountains, Kebyl coast and Timgad among other major attractions. In addition, Algeria takes pride in world heritage sites including M'zab valley, tipasa, Djemila and Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad. Despite its attractions and many features that can help the country economically, Algeria Tourism lags behind when compared to its neighboring countries such as morocco. It is for this reason that the government has been putting in place several measures to develop its tourism industry.
The government set aside a budget of US$9.6 billion aimed at improving the country's transport network. When it comes to tourism, proper transport is of essence. Tourists love to visit different places, historical sites and go for sightseeing. With good roads, they will be able to enjoy their travel experience. The government has therefore improved its transport network. Roads, ports and airports are well developed owing to various development projects that the government has been working on.
Additionally, the government has been engaging in a public and private partnership since the year 2008. The state finance act was also reformed in 2009. This was aimed at ensuring that loans to develop tourism industries were easily accessible and at the most affordable interest rates. Long term measures have also been put in place to attract more investors in tourism industry. As a result, the government has managed to make its tourism sector stronger and more attractive to local and international tourists.
Similarly, the government of Algeria has been concentrating on Saharan tourism. This is because it was listed as a major priority under SDAT. Six tourism villages have been a target in the region to boost and strengthen tourism sector. State of the art hotels have also been built in the Sahara since 2009. Various projects to finance tourism in the region were successful including oasis loop and hot air balloon tour spearheaded by club d'Adventure Africaines. As a result, tourism in Sahara region has been greatly enhanced and has continued to attract local and international tourists.
Security has also been enhanced in Algeria to ensure safety of tourists whenever they are visiting different attractions. This has led to growth of Algeria tourism because many countries such as Canada, the US and EU countries that warned its citizens of visiting the country are assured of safety of their citizens. Algeria tourism has been developing for the past few years. The country has great potential to develop tourism sector and boost its economic development. There are many measures that have been put in place to ensure tourists explore the best sides of Algeria and this can be proved by the various successful projects. The number of tourists who have been visiting the country has been increasingly tremendously and the country aims at attracting 3.5 million tourists a year as from 2015.