The country posted its strongest tourism growth in 2007. It was estimated that the capital
Luanda needs more hotels to fill the current deficit of 3500 rooms. Few were also already
under construction and more were planned for the next coming years. The negative
impact of the current financial crisis, and the decline in the level of employment have,
however, deterred further growth. The contribution of tourism to gross domestic product
is forecasted to drop from 6.9% in 2009 to 6.4% by 2019 (World Travel and Tourism
Council, 2009). In response, it is expected that the Angolan government will raise the
level of capital investments in the tourism sector from an estimated 6.5% of total investment
in year 2009, to around 7.1% in 2019. The level of tourism demand and the average tourist
spending are also expected to rise sharply over the coming 5 years following a slight decline
in 2009 (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2009).