Angola is stepping up efforts to turn tourism into its next growth engine, using the ITB Berlin travel fair and a major investment summit in Luanda this May to court global investors and reposition itself beyond oil.
At a high‑level Leaders Dinner in Berlin, the Ministry of Tourism and the World Tourism Forum Institute showcased Angola’s plans ahead of the Global Tourism Forum Investment Summit Angola 2026, to be held in Luanda from 7 to 9 May.
Tourism Minister Márcio de Jesus Lopes Daniel told industry leaders that Angola is “entering a new phase” in which long‑neglected tourism potential is being converted into “concrete business opportunities” backed by a clear national strategy.
The government has branded tourism its “green oil,” framing the sector as a sustainable driver of jobs, regional development and foreign exchange as crude production declines. Non‑oil activity already helped lift GDP growth to about 4.4 percent in 2024, the strongest pace in five years, and Luanda now aims to double tourism revenues by 2027 through a mix of infrastructure spending and private‑sector partnerships.
A centrepiece of the new push is Tourism Doing Business – Investing in Angola, an investment guide developed with technical support from UN Tourism and launched around ITB Berlin. The document maps a pipeline of projects in ecotourism, nature and coastal tourism, hotel and resort development, and cultural and heritage sites, providing investors with details on locations, legal frameworks and partnership models to reduce perceived risk.
[See more: Angola injects nearly US$6 million into developing cruise tourism]
Luanda has already signed several memoranda of understanding with international companies covering tourism infrastructure, transport, energy‑linked projects and internationally branded resorts, signalling a shift from promotion to implementation.
President João Lourenço has approved around €500 million for core coastal infrastructure – from roads and power to sanitation – in priority tourism zones such as Cabo Ledo, Mussulo, the Kalandula Falls area and the Angolan side of the Okavango region.
The May summit in Luanda is designed as a deal‑making platform, bringing together tourism ministers, hotel groups, financiers, aviation executives and infrastructure developers, alongside an Angola Tourism Investment Expo showcasing provincial projects.
With 1,650 kilometres of Atlantic coastline, dramatic deserts, waterfalls and access to the Kavango‑Zambezi conservation area, Angola is betting that a more investor‑friendly framework can turn its natural assets into a diversified, internationally competitive tourism economy.
