Africa-Press – Angola. At least two cruise ships, the Silver Wind and the Viking, docked in Luanda on Saturday with 488 tourists of various nationalities on board for a few-hour stay.
They have scheduled visits to several sites in the Angolan capital, including the Iron Palace, the National Museum of Anthropology, the National Museum of Military History, the Agostinho Neto Mausoleum, and Luanda Island, as well as Cabo Ledo in the Icolo e Bengo province.
According to José Cabral, the general director of TravelGest, the docking of cruise ships in Luanda impacts the national economy by mobilizing hotel, tourism, restaurant, and commercial services, as well as providing another means of disseminating the country’s image.
“This type of tourism also fosters rich cultural exchanges because, in addition to absorbing our culture, tourists interact and share their own cultures,” said Cabral.
Cabral noted that this is the third time the Silver Wind has visited Angola, and other ships are expected in May and June.
The Silver Wind is carrying 244 tourists, most of whom are American, but there are also Australians, Chinese, and Taiwanese on board. The ship stopped in the province of Namibe, where tourists had the opportunity to visit Tigers Beach and the city of Moçâmedes.
The Viking ship, which came from Cape Town, South Africa, is carrying passengers of various nationalities and stopped in Namibia before arriving in Luanda.
The provincial director of the Luanda Culture and Tourism Office, Gersy Pegado, said that this week marks the second time Luanda has received tourists arriving on cruise ships from other countries.
She added that they are seeing a growing movement that could effectively establish Luanda as a popular tourist destination, as creating an attractive tourism product is a major interest.
An American tourist couple, consider Angola a beautiful country for the first time.
They emphasized their enthusiasm for seeing Luanda’s main attractions on a five- to six-hour tour and took the opportunity to express their desire to visit the Slavery Museum because they said they know nothing about the slave trade.
Mexican tourist Sofia Anadia briefly expressed her interest in learning about Africa. She revealed that her trip to Angola and South Africa was motivated by her desire to get to know these two countries and others on the continent better. She promised to continue learning about Angola’s history through books.
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