Launched in Dakar, the International Coastal Tourism and Cruise Show (SATOLIC) aims to promote the tourism potential of cruising in West Africa, by bringing together key players in the sector.
On Thursday, November 21 in Dakar, Senegal officially kicked off the first edition of the International Coastal Tourism and Cruise Show (SATOLIC).
This initiative aims to position West Africa as a leading destination for cruise tourism. The Senegalese Minister of Tourism and Crafts, Mountaga Diao, underlined the strategic importance of the event.
“Senegal has decided to walk with its friends to develop cruise tourism and make it a tool for integration,” he said at the opening of the ceremony, calling for strengthened sub-regional collaboration.
The show highlights the assets of Senegal and its neighbors (Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Cape Verde), while offering an inter-state cruise and air connections to redefine travel in the region. Tourist offices, cruise lines, experts and other partners are participating to explore opportunities to propel the West African coast onto the global cruise tourism scene.
Thus, Mr. Diao presented SATOLIC as “the new starting point for African tourism”, aligned with the ambitious vision of the Senegal 2050 Agenda, the economic and social benchmark of the new government. “Our strength lies in our unity. Together, we can build a competitive tourism offer, integrating infrastructure, regulatory aspects and environmental concerns,” he declared.
Organized by the Senegalese Tourism Promotion Agency (ASPT), SATOLIC continues until November 23 at the Place du Souvenir africain, bringing together key players in the sector, decision-makers and international experts, with the aim of making tourism coastline and cruise a lever for economic development and regional integration.
Dr Adama Ndiaye, Director General of ASPT, recalled that tourism was a central pillar of Senegal’s economic transformation. “This show aims to transform the coastline and attract thousands of tourists, thus contributing to the development of the sector,” he explained.
The president of the Federation of Employers’ Organizations of the Senegal Tourism Industry (FOPITS), Racine Sy, welcomed the attention given to the sector by the new authorities. He called for strong decisions to position West Africa as a key destination. “We must pool our strengths to make tourism an engine of growth and a job-creating sector,” he insisted.
Representatives of neighboring countries welcomed the Senegalese initiative. For Maria Cardoso Di Carvalho, from the Cape Verde Ministry of Tourism, “tourism represents 25% of Cape Verde’s GDP and constitutes the country’s growth engine.” She discussed strategic measures taken to ensure sustainable growth of the sector.
For his part, Elhadj Amadou Gaye, Secretary General of the Mauritanian Ministry of Tourism, stressed that this event reflects Senegal’s leadership and offers opportunities to promote the region’s natural assets.
The Gabonese Minister of Tourism, Pascal Ogowe Siffon, highlighted the historical links between his country and Senegal through “memorial tourism”. This is embodied, he recalled, by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, founder of the Sufi brotherhood of the Mourides, whose place of deportation in the 19th century in Gabon is regularly visited by the faithful of this strong community based in Touba, in central Senegal.
SATOLIC “is a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for increased cooperation in the tourism sector,” he said.
ODL/SF/te/APA
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