Interview:
H.E. Baba Hamadou, Minister of Tourism,
Cameroon
Mister Minister, what are
your immediate and long range goals for tourism
in Cameroon?
In the area of tourism
Cameroon is currently pursuing a double
objective: seeing to it that this sector
participates concretely and immediately in the
implementation of the Head of State's policy
programme for his current seven &endash; year
term of office, so as to meet the common goal of
social well being. This is why my Ministry is
working to increase significantly the number of
international tourists visiting Cameroon. The
figure is today estimated at about half a
million.
The immediate objective which
agrees with the medium- range target of endowing
the sector with a sound tourism policy that will
be made possible in the coming months through a
Tourism Development Master Plan, will lead to a
more rational and optimal development and
exploitation of our potentials.
The upcoming creation of a
National Tourism Board, the developments now
taking place in some tourist sites, notably
within the framework of the STEP (Sustainable
Tourism for Eliminating Poverty) Programme, the
imminent launching of major construction works
for the iinvestment of giant tourist complexes
in Malimba-Yoyo in the Littoral Region and in
Lobé near Kribi in the South Region are
ample proof of a brighter future for Cameroon's
tourism industry. As far as cooperation is
concerned, we are going to continue with the
signing of cooperation agreements in the area of
tourism, notably with China. .
What sets Cameroon apart
from other destinations in Western and Central
Africa?
What is your competitive
edge?
The main characteristic of
Cameroon's tourist products is their diversity.
In fact, thanks to its central position on the
African continent, Cameroon's tourism is
characterized by a large variety of products.
Cameroon's tourism potential is endowed with a
large range of resources stemming from its
landscape, and climate which give rise to flora
and fauna resources that feature among the
richest in Africa. Moreover, this country
harbours almost the totality of what nature has
unevenly given to other African countries. Here
live more than 250 ethnic groups with
exceptionally rich and varied cultures and
folklores.
It is worth noting here that
in a region like ours which is plagued with all
sorts of crises - social peace that reigns in
our country is very conducive for profitable
tourist investments.
How highly do you rate
your membership in the Africa Travel Association
and its events in Africa and the
USA?
There exist potential market
segments in the USA for the development of our
tourism. There are for example, lovers of
nature, of less &endash; disturbed environment,
and of genuine cultures and traditions. But, the
most visible segment is of human and historic
interest. It is worth recalling that according
to historians, about 30% of black slave
population that was taken from the West Coast of
Africa originated from the region that stretches
from Cameroon to the Niger Delta. Probability is
therefore high that an important part of African
Americans hailed from Cameroonian families, as
it is the case with Nate Parker, who, according
to recent information, will visit Cameroon where
his roots are said to be found in the Tikar
region.
This accounts for: Cameroon's
adhesion to ATA in 1986; the organization of two
annual congresses (1987 and 2004) and of one
symposium on ecotourism in 2001 in Cameroon; the
creation of an ATA Chapter; the creation of a
National Scientific Committee on Cultural
Tourism Project "The Slave Route" and more
recently the representation of Cameroon Head of
State H.E. Paul BIYA at the 4 th Forum of
African Heads of State on Tourism organized By
ATA last September in New York alongside the
General assembly meeting of the United
Nations.
As far as ATA events in
Africa and the USA are concerned, they have been
witnessing for the past years both a
quantitative and qualitative evolution. The
project for the elaboration of a five-year plan
of ATA's activities could be a good thing likely
to help this organization be more at the service
of its members and of the development of tourism
in Africa.
What are your priorities
for the improvement to the tourism
infrastructures?
To improve tourism
infrastructures in Cameroon, a number of
activities have been undertaken, notably: 1- On
going leasing procedure of State- owned
hotels.
To that effect, a public
international call for the manifestation of
interest was launched and the deadline for
submission of tender files is 24 May
2010;
2- Many tourist sites have
been studied and are soon going to be developed
within the framework of ecotourism development
in Cameroon. It is the case with the EBOGO
tourist site in the Centre Region and Lake AWING
in the North- West Region which are STEP
projects (Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating
Poverty)
3- Improving upon the quality
of service in lodging establishments through the
on going campaigns on classification and
re-classification.
4- Training and sensitization
campaigns geared towards private operators
through the organization of seminars on
quality.
What results do you expect
from the Africa Tourism Commission meeting this
May?
The UNWTO Africa Commission
is holding its 50th meeting from 17 to 19 May
2010 in Algiers in Algeria. This meeting is
coming after the 18th session of the General
assembly meeting of the World Tourism
Organization held last October in Astana in
Kazakhstan and whose resolutions marked more
than ever before, the determination and the
capacity of its members to make tourism an
essential tool for job creation and economic
recovery. In my capacity as Chairman of the
UNWTO Commission for Africa, and considering the
positive results achieved by this region as far
as international tourist arrivals since the
beginning of the economic and financial crisis
of 2008 are concerned, our wish is to see our
countries implement the resolutions mentioned
above, namely the ones relating to "the road map
for recovery "and the Declaration of tourist
movements". This will help to maximize the
fallouts of tourist activities in our countries.
The World Football Cup to be organized in South
Africa and the celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the independence of most African
countries will obviously contribute to
it.
Cameroon Ministry of
Tourism
Tel:, +237 222-4411
Fax:, +237 222-1295.
B.P. 266 Yaoundé 237
Cameroon
Website:
www.mintour.gov.cm
E-mail: ctourisme@yahoo.fr
CAMAIR-CO: LES GRANDES
AMBITIONS DU NOUVEAU DG
Yaoundé, 25 Janvier 2013
© BRICE
R. MBODIAM
Dès sa prise de fonction il y a douze jours, le nouveau Dg de
Camair-Co, le Néerlandais Matthijs Boertien Johannes, souffle une
source autorisée, a reçu une feuille de route conçue par un comité
interministériel, sorte de boussole devant permettre à l'ancien
Directeur d'exploitation de la compagnie aérienne nationale
camerounaise, de conduire Camair-Co vers de meilleurs rivages. Mais
il est difficile de savoir si cette feuille de route, dont le
Ministre des Transports, Robert Nkili, a esquissé les grandes lignes
en installant le nouveau Dg, est aussi ambitieuse que ce que
Matthijs Boertien Johannes lui-même appelle «la vision de Camair-Co
» sur la période 2013-2018, qui sera en principe présentée, a-t-i
révélé au reporter de Mutations le 23 janvier dernier dans un hôtel
de la capitale, vendredi le 1er février 2013 au cours d'une
conférence de presse organisée à Douala.
Pendant cette rencontre avec la presse, le Dg de Camair-Co devrait
également faire l'état des lieux de la compagnie, caractérisé par,
soutient-il, «un important déficit que nous sommes encore en train
d'évaluer, puisque les comptes de 2012 ne sont pas bouclés». Tout au
plus, on apprendra que dans l'urgence, afin de rassurer les
partenaires de la compagnie, l'Etat du Cameroun a du débloquer 2,5
milliards de Fcfa dès la prise de fonction de Matthijs Boertin
Johannes, afin d'apurer une partie de la dette due aux fournisseurs
de l'entreprise, sur une enveloppe globale de 10 milliards de Fcfa.
Mais le plus grand défi de ce qu'il convient d'appeler le plan
stratégique, « Camair-Co sur la période 2013-2018, demeure
l'exploitation de la compagnie dans un ciel de plus en plus
concurrentiel. De ce point de vue, Matthijs Boertien Johannes entend
œuvrer pour devenir membre de l’Iata, l'organisation faîtière des
compagnies aériennes dans le monde, préalable pour établir des
alliances avec d'autres compagnies aériennes, afin dé sortir du
carcan du service point à point; qui pousse par exemple beaucoup de
clients à préférer les autres compagnies au détriment de Camair-Co.
Échéance pour cette adhésion et l’obtention de la certification Iata
sur laquelle le Dg de Camair-Co dit travailler en ce moment avec une
équipe de l'Association des compagnies aérienne africaines: juillet
2013.
Mais avant cela, révèle le Dg, Christian Perchat, un ancien d'Air
France, d'Air Mauritius et d'Air Seychelles, qui connait bien Camair-Co
et le marché de l'aviation au Cameroun, est arrivé au Cameroun hier
le 24 janvier 2013. Il prendra bientôt ses fonctions de Directeur
commercial et de marketing de Camair-Co. A l'origine de ce
recrutement explique Matthijs Boertien Johannes « l’une de nos
grosse faiblesse, c'est que nous n'avons pis de politique de
marketing, nous ne sommes pas agressif sur ce plan». M. Perchat, de
nationalité française aura dont pour objectif, apprend-on, de sortir
Camair-Co de sa torpeur au plan marketing, afin d'en faire, rêve le
Dg, la compagnie aérienne leader en Afrique centrale et de l'Ouest.
Une ambition conditionnée, confie Matthijs Boertien, par
l'exploitation de pas moins de... 26 aéronefs (contre 3 actuellement)
d'ici à 2018, dont 20 dédiés au transport des passagers et 6
exclusivement consacrés au fret.
Pour ce dernier valet des activités le Dg de Camair-Co indique qu'il
va s'attacher les services de European Garce Services (Ecs), une
entreprise de fret dont le siège est à Paris Charles de Gaulle, qui
va «investir lourdement dans les entrepôts» au Cameroun, afin de
faire de ce pays «le hub du fret en Afrique sub-saharienne».
The new Cameroonian airline intends to cover about a dozen
destinations in Africa this month; a deployment meant to
strengthen the competitiveness of CAMAIR-CO, whose activities
were launched in very difficult circumstances. Six
months after the activities of the Cameroonian airline (CAMAIR-CO)
were launched, the new national company started to mark its
anchorage in a particularly difficult and competitive air
transport sector, in which close to thirty airlines service
Cameroon. While it is true that current performances are still
far from the average recommended by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO), which advocates an aircraft load
factor of 66%, marked progress has been registered since the
load factor rose from 33% four months ago to a little over 45%
today.
A third aircraft
According to the management of this fully State-controlled
public company, there is room for optimism because « CAMAIR-CO
took–off in a difficult context. The 44?000 passengers and
more registered during the first five months represent the
aggregate of persons carried. I admit that in the beginning
it wasn't easy, we took off with planes sometimes almost
half empty. But today, we feel that an increasing number of
people are responding favourably to our efforts and I am
optimistic », Managing Director Alex Van Elk explained.
The national company wants to strengthen its position, first
by expanding its fleet, then by diversifying its operation
plan. After starting its activities with two airplanes,
CAMAIR-CO was able to beef-up its fleet with a third
aircraft, while a Boeing 777 is expected in the next couple
of days. The arrival of this high-capacity aircraft will
enable the airline to service new international
destinations, because in addition to Paris, already
operational, other lines are in the programme: Shanghai,
Dubaï and Johannesburg, to be more specific. Meanwhile, the
Cameroonian airline has announced its decision to launch a
regional offensive of which Douala, the country's economic
capital, is the hub.
Competitiveness and flexibility
Libreville in Gabon, Lagos in Nigeria have recently joined
N'djamena in Chad. « The start of these destinations marks a
significant development of our activities. Our airline has
made tremendous efforts and we believe that today it has the
expertise required to get into the regional market », Alex
Van Elk said. For this reason, five new destinations are on
the October programme : Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, Cotonou
in Benin, Dakar in Senegal, Brazzaville in Congo and Bangui
in Central African Republic.
By the end of the year, CAMAIR-CO intends to cover ten
countries in Central and West Africa, this region dubbed «
the coast » which was one of the major successes of CAMAIR,
ex national airline placed in liquidation in 2008. The
domestic flights, already operational, also constitute an
asset for the national airline, whose expected entry into
the Clearing House should strengthen its competitiveness.
Customer Loyalty Programme
The State, which injected 22 billion CFA francs for the
launching of CAMAIR-CO in March 2010, dreams « of a reliable
and competitive airline ». Cargo activities brought in a
billion CFA francs during the first five months of
operation, with an encouraging progression margin. Moreover,
the airline intends to establish a loyalty programme to
compensate its faithful customers. « This is an additional
challenge, I hope we will succeed, in any case, we will do
our best », the Managing Director declared.
Aside from strengthening its fleet, CAMAIR-CO should quickly
integrate the Clearing House, in order to allow its
passengers more flexibility. Likewise, it is necessary for
CAMAIR-CO to be a member of Team Airlines, i.e. cooperate
with other airlines as is the case of Air France-KLM,
especially with the Open Sky phenomenon which will be
consolidated in Europe with effect from next year .
Achille Mbog Pibasso, Douala
