(Business in Cameroon) – During a recent address to Parliament, Cameroon’s Tourism Minister Bello Bouba Maïgari reported that the country has 930 recognized tourist sites, ranging from natural wonders to man-made attractions. Yet, the sector contributes just 4.1% to GDP and supports about 15% of jobs, both directly and indirectly.
The minister was responding to a question from lawmaker Bienvenu Ndjip about the government’s strategy to develop tourism infrastructure. He said funding is a key obstacle, even though the government has made an effort to increase investment.
“The government’s budget efforts deserve recognition and support,” the minister said. “But the needs are still greater than the resources available.”
Developing a local tourist site costs around CFA500 million, while a site of national importance can run up to CFA1.5 billion, he noted.
Out of the ministry’s average annual investment budget of CFA4 billion, about 23%—roughly CFA1.2 billion—is transferred to local councils to improve community-level sites. An additional CFA500 million is set aside each year to upgrade regional and national sites, bringing the total investment in tourism sites to CFA1.7 billion annually—almost half of the ministry’s development budget.
Despite the funding gap, the minister pointed to progress. Between 2010 and 2024, the government improved 60 sites, with a total investment of CFA10.9 billion.
As for management, more than a dozen of these sites have been handed over to private operators and are now fully operational. The rest are run by local governments.
