Tourism and development after civil war in Malange province, Angola

Abstract

The end of Angola's civil war in 2002 initiated a post-war reconstruction boom. Touristically, Angola is perceived as a very inaccessible and underdeveloped tourism destination. The country's Malange province was severely affected by the war and its local economy is still recovering. The first step in its reconstruction is the creation of an appropriate environment for all forms of development. Two priorities are to improve the level of security and to provide adequate infrastructure. These two actions are prerequisites for the development of any form of tourism. This provision will improve access to services, facilities and markets, which will ultimately lead to an improved quality of life. Malange has a diverse range of natural and cultural resources, most of which have great potential for development as tourist attractions. To provide a tourism master plan for responsible tourism development and to attract focused investment to the region, it is necessary to develop a spatial development framework for Malange. In this paper, first the international scholarship on tourism as a development tool in developing countries and the role of the reconstruction of infrastructure in post-war countries are reviewed. Second, the research methods and process for the identification, analysis and selection of tourism attractions are explained in the context of the accessibility and availability of supplementary tourism facilities. Third, Malange's tourism development context is introduced. Fourth, recommendations are made for a spatial framework consisting of nodes (three levels), networks and spaces for tourism development. Last, insights from these processes are given for the benefit of other countries having to reconstruct their tourism systems after crisis events.

Keywords::

• post-war reconstruction
• infrastructure
• safety
• spatial development framework
• tourism system

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. Due to the current inaccessibility of Kangandala National Park, the Giant Sable cannot become a tourist attraction.