Ministerial meeting between the Culture and Tourism sectors for sustainable development

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Ministerial meeting between the Culture and Tourism sectors for sustainable tourism development

Promoting integration between #Culture and #Tourism

Within the framework of implementing the National Strategy aimed at integrating cultural resources into sustainable development plans, the Ministers of Culture and Arts, Mr. Zehir Bello, and the Minister of Tourism and Traditional Crafts, Ms. Houria Meddahi, chaired a high-level ministerial coordination meeting held this morning, Thursday, May 29, 2025, at the "Mfadi Zakaria" Cultural Palace, in the presence of officials from both ministries, alongside experts and professionals in the fields of culture and tourism.

This joint meeting reflects a growing strategic awareness of the importance of integration between the two sectors, considering culture as a driver of development and a key element in diversifying the national tourism offering, thereby upholding the principles of authenticity and sustainability, and enhancing Algeria's tourism appeal.

During the opening session, Mr. Minister of Culture and Arts emphasized the sector's commitment to making cultural heritage—both tangible and intangible—into an effective economic driver through a comprehensive approach based on institutional coordination, regulatory modernization, and digitization, ensuring the recognition of heritage while preserving its authenticity.

On its part, the Minister of Tourism emphasized the need to strengthen coordination with the culture sector to develop domestic tourism in order to support local economic dynamism and open up wide investment and employment opportunities, while focusing on improving Saharan tourism to boost foreign tourist flows, particularly at the key Saharan hubs, in order to enhance the attractiveness of Algerian tourist destinations, considering that culture represents a cultural and tourism wealth that must be leveraged within an integrated vision.

The meeting featured technical presentations focusing on the digitization of cultural resources, the role of stables systems, the importance of festivals, and the integration of sectoral policies. Five thematic workshops were organized, addressing issues related to training, governance, tourism diversification, site valorization, and heritage protection.

The meeting produced several recommendations, among them:

- Establishment of a joint national committee between the two ministries responsible for preparing a roadmap to integrate cultural resources into sustainable tourism, within short, medium, and long-term timeframes.

- Supporting tourism activities at cultural and historical sites listed in thematic tourism routes,

- Development of an information system (SIG) for heritage practices and cultural sites

- Strengthening the role of culture and tourism within Algeria's soft power, and supporting its regional and international presence.

- Cooperation with film production companies to shoot movies at tourist sites, and to make Algeria an international destination for film production.

- Promoting national cinematic production through special screenings for tourists, especially foreign visitors.

- Encouraging the production of promotional films in a cinematic style that highlight the beauty, history, and culture of the country.

- Introducing reciprocal teaching materials in cinematic and tourism training curricula to enhance mutual understanding between the two sectors.

- Integrating cultural resources in all their forms into the National Tourism Plan 2030.

- Creating shared digital applications to promote and market thematic cultural itineraries.

- The interconnection between the Geographic Information System of the Culture and Arts sector and the Digital Applications of the Tourism sector.

- Strengthening coordination to protect heritage sites from both human and environmental degradation, especially those open to visitors.

- Allocating spaces within tourism facilities for showcasing and selling products by local artists, thereby highlighting Algeria's cultural and artistic diversity.

- Encouraging tourism agencies to include visits to museums and historical and archaeological sites in their itineraries.

- Involving associations and local communities in contributing to the implementation of the sectoral strategy for promoting heritage and historical sites.

- Promoting thematic tourism routes through digitization

- Training of guides specialized in history and local culture.