Algeria is the largest country in Africa; one of the main tourist attractions is the Sahara, the largest desert in the world. Algeria has been a member of the World Tourism Organization since 1976. According to a report of the World Tourism Organization published in 2014, Algeria was the 4th largest tourist destination in Africa in 2013 with 2.7 million foreign tourists, and ranks 111th on the international tourism scene, according to the London-based World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC). The tourism sector in Algeria accounts for 3.9% of the volume of exports, 9.5% of the productive investment rate and 8.1% of the gross domestic product.
The main competitors are other Mediterranean countries, the majority of which have developed a strong tourism-based economy.SNAT a l'horizon 2025 The tourism sector in Algeria remains weak concerning accommodation and other services. For this reason, the government launched a strategic plan to boost this sector entitled “The 2030 Master Plan for Tourism Development”.
According to the U.S. News & World Report, Algeria was ranked among the top 80 countries in the world in 2018.
The US national newspaper USA Today ranked Constantine among the eleven cities to visit the world in 2018. The newspaper was based on the experience of Sal Lavallo, one of the youngest people to have visited all 193 member states of the United Nations.
+Tourist arrivals of 2023 in %
Tourism policy of the state
A project developed during the "National and International Conference of Tourism" was born providing a new dynamics of reception and management of tourism in Algeria. This project is called (Horizon 2025). Foreign investors, mainly French, position themselves to dominate the market, focused mainly on a business clientele.
An initial advertising campaign was rolled out to attract investors and foreign customers, along with conferences, trade shows and commissions.
The World Cup-winning former footballer Zinedine Zidane of Algerian descent was also used for a new commercial carried out under the aegis of the telephony operator, Ooredoo Algeria, intended for an international audience.
A Quality Tourism Plan Algeria was adopted by the government but by the end of 2010, only 10% of tourist structures in Algeria have joined this program. Investors remain interested in the potential of the country, as well as the high authorities, as the representative of the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), Frédéric Perret, told the conference of the International Tourism and Travel Exhibition held In Algeria in 2010, that the Algerian tourism sector has great potential thanks to its "Mediterranean beaches, its fascinating Djurdjura National Park, its human, cultural and historical treasures."
As part of the tourism development policy, 'Eductour' is regularly organized for the national and international.
World Heritage Sites Algeria is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Site Image Location Criteria Areaha (acre) Adoption Description Beni Hammad Fort AlgeriaM'sila Province, Cultural:AlgDje(iii) 1980 The ruins of the first capital city of the Hammadid emirs, founded in 1007 and demolished in 1152, The mosque, whose prayer room has 13 aisles with eight bays, is one of the largest in Algeria. Djémila AlgeriaSétif Province, Cultural:AlgDje(iii)(iv) 1982 Djémila (formerly known as Cuicul) was a Roman town in a mountainous site, comprising a forum, temples, basilicas, triumphal arches and religious buildings and other structures, each adapted to a location 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level. Kasbah of Algiers AlgeriaAlgiers Province, Cultural:AlgKas(ii)(v) 1982 The Kasbah of Algiers is a unique Islamic city on the Mediterranean coast. It contains remains of a citadel, medieval mosques and Ottoman palaces. M'zab Valley AlgeriaGhardaïa Province, Cultural:AlgMzb(ii)(iii)(v) 1982 The intact, traditional human habitat was built around five ksour of the M'zab Valley in the 10th century by the Ibadites. Tassili n'Ajjer AlgeriaIllizi and Tamanrasset Provinces, Mixed:AlgTas(i)(iii)(vii)(viii) 1982 A vast plateau on the edge of the Sahara, Tassili n'Ajjer contains more than 15,000 cave engravings that record climatic changes, animal migrations, and the evolution of human life, dating from 6,000 BCE to the first centuries CE. It is also noted for its eroded sandstone landforms. Timgad AlgeriaBatna Province, Cultural:AlgTim(ii)(iii)(iv) 1982 Established by Emperor Trajan in 100 CE as a military colony, Timgad features cardo and decumanus streets, constituting a typical example of Roman town-planning. Tipasa AlgeriaTipaza Province, Cultural:AlgTip(iii)(iv) 1982 Previously a Carthaginian trading centre, Tipasa was conquered by the Romans and converted into a military base. The site also bears witness to paleochristian and Byzantine influences.
Religion in Algeria is dominated by Islam at about ninety-nine percent of the population. The vast majority of Muslims in Algeria adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence. There are also almost 100,000 Christians, mostly Pentecostal Protestants. There are nearly 2,000 Jews living in Algeria, according to the US department of State.
This is a list of some of the best-known mosques and churches in Algeria:
Djamaâ El Djazaïr
Djamaâ El Djazaïr (Mosque of Algeria, in Arabic: جامع الجزائر); or Great Mosque of Algeria (in Arabic: مسجد الجزائر الأعظم) is a mosque in the process of completion, located in Mohammedia in Algiers. It is the largest mosque in Algeria and Africa and the third largest mosque in the world by total area, after the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque in Medina.
Ketchaoua Mosque
Ketchaoua Mosque is a mosque in Algiers. It is located at the foot of the Casbah, which was built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosque stands on the first of the Casbah's many steep stairways, and was logistically and symbolically the cynosure of the pre-colonial city of Algiers. The mosque is noted for its unique fusion of Moorish and Byzantine architecture.
Notre-Dame d'Afrique
Notre-Dame d'Afrique (Our Lady of Africa) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Algiers. Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy, who served as the Bishop of Algiers from 1846 to 1866, paved the way for its construction. The basilica was inaugurated in 1872, after fourteen years of construction. It was founded by Charles Lavigerie. Its architect, Jean-Eugène Fromageau, who had been appointed the chief architect for ecclesiastical buildings in French Algeria in 1859, employed a Neo-Byzantine style. Its floor plan is unusual as the choir is situated on the southeast instead of the usual east side of the building.
1st November of 1954 Great Mosque
1st November of 1954 Great Mosque is considered to be the largest mosque in Algeria and the second in Africa It is located in the town of Batna. This imposing religious building has been open to the faithful since 2003 and is one of the great architectural achievements of the city.
Saint Augustin Basilica The Basilique Saint Augustin (Basilica of St Augustine) is a Roman Catholic basilica and Pro-cathedral dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo located in Annaba, Algeria. The basilica is under the circumscription of the Diocese of Constantine. Construction of the basilica began in 1881 and finished on March 29, 1900, though the church was not dedicated until April 24, 1914. The statue of St. Augustine in the basilica contains one of his arm bones. It was built not far from the remains of the Basilica Pacis built by Saint Augustine, where he died while the city was besieged by Vandals.
Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Oran Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Oran is a Roman Catholic church located on the Place de la Kahina, on Boulevard Hammou-boutlelis, in Oran.
Djama'a al-Djedid
Djama'a al-Djedid, also referred to as the Jamaa al-Jadid, Jamaa El Jedid, or the New Mosque, () is an Ottoman mosque located in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was built in 1660 in accordance with the traditions of the Hanafi school. During the French colonial rule, the mosque was called the Mosquée de la Pêcherie and in English the Mosque of the Fisherman's Wharf.
Great Mosque of Tlemcen Great Mosque of Tlemcen was first built in Tlemcen, Algeria in 1082. It is one of the best-preserved examples of Almoravid architecture. It was built under sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin but substantially reconstructed and enlarged by his son Ali ibn Yusuf. An inscription dates this reconstruction to 1136. Sultan Yaghmoracen (1236-1283), the founder of the Abdalwadid dynasty of Tlemcen added a section with a minaret and a dome in the 13th century. Next, to the mosque, there used to be an Islamic court (Makhama) and an Islamic university of considerable fame.
Abdallah Ibn Salam Mosque Abdallah Ibn Salam Mosque is a mosque in Algeria. Formerly the Great Synagogue of Oran (in Arabic: معبد وهران العظيم), it was built in 1880 at the initiative of Simon Kanoui, but its inauguration took place only in 1918. Also known as Temple Israelite, it is located on the former Boulevard Joffre, currently Boulevard Maata Mohamed El Habib. It was one of the largest synagogues in North Africa.
Once Algeria gained its independence in 1962, almost all Jewish settlers had returned to France. An estimated 100 to 120 thousand Jewish settlers, as well as a million other European settlers and 100 thousand Muslim Harkis, had fled Algeria choosing to settle in France during the Pied-Noir exodus.Pied-Noir
The Jewish settlers relocating to France in the 1960s were assigned "repatriate" status and classed alongside the European settler population because the Jews of Algeria had been French citizens since the Crémieux Decree of 1870.
The Abdallah Ibn Salam mosque is named after the 7th-century Jew from Medina who converted to Islam.
Cultural tourism
Algeria benefits from important natural assets such as its beaches in general still in the wild, landscapes and zones like the Algerian Desert. There are 10 national parks in Algeria, including the Tassili Cultural Park (100,000 ha) or the Ahaggar Cultural Park (Hoggar) (380,000 ha)
Hiking enthusiasts have access to the vast mountains of Kabylia. Despite what is thought, Algeria also has a ski area in Tikjda as well as spas.
Architecturally, there are strong Berber, Arabic, Spanish and French influences following colonization, but also more contemporary works. The main post office in Algiers remains a monument of the neo-Moorish type, the work of Jules Voinot and Marius Toudoire. The Casbah of Algiers is also a place of visit classified as a world heritage of UNESCO since 1982.
National Parks Ahaggar National Park Belezma National Park Chrea National Park Djurdjura National Park El Kala National Park Gouraya National Park Tassili n'Ajjer National Park Taza National Park Theniet El Had National Park Tlemcen National Park
Museums
Ahmed Zabana National Museum Archaeological Museum of Cherchell Bardo National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography Béni Abbès Museum Museum of Antiquities (Algiers) Museum of Modern Art of Algiers Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions Museum of the Revolution National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers
Festivals International Arab Film Festival Timgad International Music Festival
International Book Fair of Algiers Nuits de la Saoura International Cultural Festival of Algerian Symphonic Music Arab-African folk dance festival in Tizi Ouzou Algiers International Comics Festival
Saharan Tourism
The Algerian Sahara is one of the most important tourist destinations in Algeria, the Great South is a flagship destination internationally. Hiking is not the only way to discover the Sahara, in fact, camel rides on a Meharée camel or in a 4x4 vehicle, or even formulas combining hiking, camel trekking, and 4x4.