An exchange session took place on Thursday September 14, 2023 between stakeholders from the world of tourism and Beninese investors. This is an activity which brought together several tourism executives with the sole objective of better selling the Benin destination to foreigners.
At the end of this meeting which took place in Cotonou, under the theme “Tourism Destination Benin: from vision to reality”, Clément Adankon, promoter of the travel agency “Africa Tours Safari”, spoke to the media BENIN LOOK. In his remarks, the man first expressed his satisfaction with the quality of the exchanges, before submitting the grievances which will certainly revolutionize the field.
BENIN REGARD: Are you satisfied with the exchanges?
Clément Adankon: Already, the fact that we are organizing such an event is beneficial. It is an opportunity for exchange between the different actors to create synergy, to clarify roles and provide work elements. It’s already great and it’s my first satisfaction. I noticed among the various speakers, a real passion, a desire to do something magical, something formidable which is to be saluted.
Of course, regarding the answers to the questions, we cannot say that we are completely satisfied. But it is already important that we ask them, that the main players integrate them in order to be able to improve their approaches and the concepts that they put in place today. I would like to thank the government of President Patrice Talon who is doing a magnificent job of revealing Benin.
Need more facilities…
Of course. We need more facilities. I take the catering sector as an example. Here, the restaurant market is held by foreigners. A large part of the Beninese economic system is owned by foreigners. Lebanese restaurants are the most popular in Cotonou.
So speaking of tourism, we cannot invest all this money from the Beninese taxpayer so that foreigners stand by the side of the tracks and reap the benefits. There will be a flight of capital. And that doesn’t help Benin. So the government has an interest in taking into account the support needed for the different actors to get up to speed.
Grievances…
When you go to countries with a tourist culture, you see that the actors are at the level. When you hire a travel agency in China, Tunisia, Egypt, they have a fleet of very good quality vehicles, field vehicles and other things you need. We are not asking you to give us free money but to finish the work by accompanying us. Because institutions do not like to finance tourist structures.
A word to those in power
I thank the government for organizing these meetings. And I think we need to reinvent mechanisms. We have to invent tools. For example, I would propose a guarantee fund to overcome the fear of banks. Knowing that there is a fund to protect credits, they will have more interest in capturing this financing which will ultimately bring them resources.