Africa

Just fifteen minutes from Bole airport, the new Hyatt Regency hotel has opened in the heart of the Ethiopian capital. Business travellers can now book one of the 188 rooms in this establishment, located close to the United Nations conference centre and the headquarters of the African Union. These rooms include...

Eldorado, a new land to conquer, the continent of tomorrow... There is no shortage of eulogistic terms to illustrate the confidence in Africa's future. A promising future that is attracting ever more business travellers and, in a snowball effect, requiring ever more hotels to accommodate them. The major business brands are not failing to seize these opportunities...

Radisson Blu in Bamako, Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou, Grand Bassam seaside resort: the African hotel industry has recently paid a heavy price for international terrorism. So, as the issue of security takes on ever greater importance in the corporate world, the question of choosing a hotel is, perhaps more so in Africa...

Why is Africa a priority for most hotel groups? Olivier Jacquin - Demographically and economically, Africa will be a major continent, with more than 2.5 billion inhabitants by 2050. One in four people will live in Africa. This opens up huge opportunities in all sectors of the economy.

Ethiopian Airlines is continuing to expand its network in Africa. In the spring, the Ethiopian national carrier launched services to three new African destinations from Addis Ababa. In particular, the airline is offering a triangular flight linking the Ethiopian capital to Kisangani and Mbuji-Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With three services a week,...

From 2019, Brussels Airlines will offer business travellers a daily flight to the Gambian capital Banjul. In addition, three of the seven weekly flights to Dakar will be direct. To support this expansion of the African network, the carrier has decided to abandon the Brussels-Mumbai route, which was not giving satisfaction....

Louvre Hotels is tripling its stake in Africa. The hotel group has announced the creation of a complex in Casablanca. It will open in September and include 124 Première Classe rooms, 189 keys for the Campanile establishment and 98 rooms under the Kyriad banner. This 2,300 m² facility will bring together three of the Group's brands in a single location,...

HOTELS Hyatt Regency Casablanca[tararama ids="75405,75407,75409,75411" auto="true" pause="4000"] In the heart of Casablanca, close to the port and the financial district, this five-star establishment is very popular with business travellers. Visitors will find spacious rooms and suites with views of the United Nations Square, the Atlantic Ocean or the Hassan II Mosque, a...

Formalities A valid passport covering the entire planned stay is required for a stay in Morocco. The passport is compulsory, as entry to Morocco is no longer possible on presentation of the national identity card alone. Do not forget to check on arrival that the passport has been...

The former Anfa airport, closed since 2007, is undergoing a major transformation to the east of Casablanca. Over an area of 350 hectares, a new city centre is emerging, Casa Anfa, both an urban complex and a 100-hectare green lung. The aim is to build a...

A large metropolis in a hurry. That's the impression you get as you enter Casablanca. Along the wide boulevards lined with Art Deco buildings, an incessant coming and going betrays an economic fabric in perpetual expansion. The old fishing port of Anfa, which gave birth to the city nicknamed the White City, has been forgotten. The...

It had been announced ever since Le Figaro revealed on 25 April that AccorHotels intended to acquire Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Now it's official: AccorHotels is to buy the Swiss hotel operator. The French group has reached agreement with its owner, Saudi investor Kingdom Holding, on a price of 560 million Swiss francs, or 482 million euros. Completion of this transaction...

How do you analyse Côte d'Ivoire's economic situation since the end of the crisis in 2012? Gérard Petit: The growth rate has been constant since the end of the 2011 crisis, sustained at a high level of over 7 %, and the medium-term outlook...

Identity card Formalities A biometric visa, valid from 1 to 3 months, is compulsory for foreign business travellers wishing to visit Côte d'Ivoire. There are two ways of obtaining a business visa: either directly from the Côte d'Ivoire embassy in France (102, avenue Raymond Poincaré, 75116 Paris, tel: 01 53 64...

The Ivorians' favourite 'Babi' is back. This affectionate nickname given to Abidjan, the city on the banks of the Ebrié Lagoon, has become the symbol of a metropolis in full resurrection, vibrant with the ceaseless activity of its almost eight million inhabitants. It's a place where those who have thrived on development and those who have been left behind meet, in the...

More than 65 million euros: this is the budget that the Ivorian authorities have decided to devote to the rehabilitation and expansion, currently under way, of several of the city's major roads. One of Abidjan's main thoroughfares, boulevard de Marseille, will be upgraded thanks to a plan to widen the boulevard by more than 13 metres.

HOTELS Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire This is Abidjan's historic luxury hotel. A symbol of African modernism, built in 1963 by the Romanian-Israeli architect Moshe Mayer, then renovated in 2011 by the Ivorian-Lebanese architect Pierre Fakhoury, this prestigious building is today a symbol of the alliance between African elegance and French luxury. Located in an exceptional setting in the...

You've known Abidjan for several years. How has the city changed? Cécile Fakhoury: In 2012, the city was at a standstill on several levels. The atmosphere was still rather heavy, and the infrastructure was not as well developed as it is today. But in the space of five years, we've seen the city really take off: the economy has picked up, there's a huge...

2017 was an excellent year for tourism in Côte d'Ivoire, according to Jean-Marie Somet, managing director of Côte d'Ivoire Tourisme. "We welcomed around 1.7 million tourists last year," he stresses. The tourism business is supported in particular by regional flows of business travellers. "The economic climate is conducive to business, as the government has made it its business to...

With a subsoil rich in oil and, above all, gas, and growing economic resources, the 2000s got off to a good start for Algeria and its 40 million inhabitants. Until 2015, hydrocarbons ensured the country's growing prosperity and stability, enabling it to pay off its foreign debt and build up solid financial reserves....