The great tourist attraction of Senegal

Senegal is a high-level tourist destination with a great attraction. That was one of the messages that became clear during the Spain-Senegal Business Forum held at the Madrid headquarters of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. 

The Forum served to show the great investment opportunities that the African country offers for foreign companies, especially Spanish ones, and the tourism sector is one of the most relevant options when it comes to investing and generating wealth in Senegalese territory.

During the Spain-Senegal Business Forum, Atalayar spoke with Souleymane Ndiaye, director general of the Société d'aménagement et de promotion des côtes et zones touristiques du Sénégal (SAPCO), the company that is promoting the Senegalese tourism industry.

What was SAPCO's role in this event in Madrid? 

We were delighted to participate in the investment forum. As far as I am concerned, in the field of tourism, I am speaking as the managing director of the Société d'aménagement et de promotion des côtes et zones touristiques du Sénégal, SAPCO. SAPCO has many different tourist sites. There is the Saloum Delta, a UNESCO world heritage site, and there are investors interested in developing what we call ecotourism. There is also the Pointe Sarene site. In fact, even the Spanish have made investments with the Riu chain. We have built a hotel, the Riu Baobab, with more than 500 rooms at the moment, and these 500 rooms are full all the time, practically until 2024. Even if you want to book there, it's practically impossible. In addition to the 500 rooms, another 500 rooms will be built, at the Riu Palace. Other investors are also building there, so our target is to have 1,600 rooms, villas and residences in Pointe de Sarene, and the State of Senegal has invested heavily in the consolidated investment budget. There are more than 11 billion CFA francs for street lighting, drinking water supply, construction of the pass and everything else related to town planning and urban development. 

In addition, there is the seaside resort of Mbodiene. We hear about the project, hotels are also going to be built there. Earlier we met some partners who are also interested in Mbodiene. They are the Silken hotel chain. They are coming to Senegal at the beginning of July, and we are going to work together, hopefully, in addition to what we call the project to turn the main seaside resort in East Africa, Saly, in Ville Verte. One of the components of this project is solid waste management. We have also had Spanish partners interested in signing a partnership agreement with SAPCO Senegal. In fact, we talked with them and will soon be hosting them in Senegal to continue this collaboration. 

What does Senegal offer to Spanish investors? What are the main conditions... stability, legal security... ?What are the main conditions you offer? 

Well, as you said, Senegal is a very stable country. That's why investors flock to it. We are a solid democracy. Senegal is going through democratic changes. And not only that, Senegal has high quality human resources, and we have a workforce because the majority of the population is young. But the state has also put in place mechanisms that allow investors to be exempted from certain taxes for a certain period of time. In accordance with the wishes of His Excellency, the President of the Republic Macky Sall, but also of the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Mame Mbaye Niang, who was unable to attend the Forum because the Iberia company cancelled his flight. But if it hadn't been for that, he would have attended, so Senegal really offers you all the opportunities to come and invest. There are the terms, there is also our culture, the Senegalese culture too, and there are the taxes that are exempted and, regarding labour, there are the human resources and, above all, there is the attractiveness, but also the distance that separates Senegal from the rest of the world, practically, it is the gateway to Africa. Senegal is 4 hours from Madrid, Senegal and the Canary Islands are only 2 hours away, Senegal and the United States are not far, and Senegal is also close to other countries, which is why tourists flock to Senegal.  

Mr Ndiaye, you can invite Spanish and European investors because there is going to be a very important meeting called Invest in Senegal in July in Dakar. 

Yes, we are inviting European investors, and Spanish investors in particular, to come and participate in the investment forum to be held in Dakar on 6, 7 and 8 July. It will be an opportunity to discover all that Senegal has to offer investors, and I know that these investors will not regret coming. And when they come, it will be an opportunity to sign lasting partnership agreements with Senegal. 

We have talked about investors, businessmen, but as for people, what can you tell people to come to Senegal and enjoy the beaches and all the natural parks in Senegal? 

Yes, we invite Spaniards to come and discover first our culture, the Senegalese culture. As the ambassador pointed out, there are similarities between Spanish and Senegalese culture. The Senegalese also like to come, a friend of mine was recently in Madrid and went to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. We also invite them to come and really see our feelings, our culture, but also our offer of nature with animals, we also invite them to come and discover the Senegalese culture, it is important.