Angola’s Secretary of State for Hotels, Paulino Baptista, said the Government would continue to support the construction of hotels and the expansion of the country’s tourism industry. Quoted by local newspaper Jornal de Angola, Mr Baptista said the project for construction of six hotels schools across the country, including in the capital Luanda, is expected to move forward.

Mr Baptista reiterated the Government’s intention to support the creation of 1 million jobs linked directly or indirectly to the tourism sector. The goal, he stated, is to be able to receive 4.6 million tourists and generate revenues of US$4.7 billion by 2020.

The tourism and hospitality industry in Angola employs 202,776 workers and boasts about 14,000 hotel rooms. An additional 2,000 hotel rooms should be built across the country by the end of 2015, said Mr Baptista.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the First Forum on Training for Tourism, held last week in Luanda, the Secretary of State said it was important to invest in training in the sector to develop technical, professional and academic skills among the young.