The beaches of Baía Azul, Santo António, Caotinha and Restinga were built in the colonial period and the number of visitors, at the time, was five times lower than in the current period.
The president of the Association of Hoteliers in Benguela, Cláudio Silva, told OPAÍS that new bays have not been explored in the province of Benguela, which might boost the tourism sector in the province.
The hotel manager argues that from Baía Farta to the region bordering the province of Namibe there are attractive points with crystal clear waters that can be used to form new bays. The coastal region to be explored, says Cláudio Silva, can be compared, for example, with the extension of the municipality of Benguela. “Tourism in Benguela has had a lot of demand, hence the need to open new bays, as new bays have not been created for over 50 years and the existing ones were built in colonial times,” he said.
He explains that the beaches of Baía Azul, Santo António, Caotinha and Restinga were all built by the colonist and the number of visitors, at the time, was five times lower than in the current period. In Cláudio Pinto’s opinion, Benguela has the best beaches, and, at a time when rehabilitation works are taking place on 200 kilometers of the road that connects the commune of Lucira, municipality of Moçâmedes (Namibe) and Benguela, you can take advantage of open more beaches, with a focus on promoting tourism and raising revenue.
Occupied “bays”
According to the person responsible for the emergence of new bays, there is a need for the Government to create programs or competitions aimed at entrepreneurs for their exploration. Cláudio Silva denounces the existence of spaces with potential for future bays occupied by private individuals. “We have information that there are people who occupied these bays and we are working with the Government to recover some spaces”, he revealed. According to him, the existing tourist bays do not have camping areas or religious tourism, they only have areas for parking, which does not allow visits for long hours. It should be noted that the province of Benguela has more than 200 kilometers of beaches.
15 million tourists
For Benguela, hoteliers predict that they will receive 15 million tourists in the coming years, hence the need to increase the number of quality rooms to meet requests. With 15 million tourists, the goal for the sector is to create more than 15 thousand jobs. Cláudio Silva highlights, however, that all municipalities in Benguela have potential for tourism, whether rural, sun or sea. A targeted tourist destination is what is missing, for example, in the Balombo area, where you can take thermal baths, as well as the mystique of the Dombe Grande area.
