Tourism in Gabon is underdeveloped. Despite this, attractions include beaches, ocean and inland fishing facilities, the falls on the

Ogooué River The Ogooué (or Ogowe), also known as the Nazareth river, some long, is the principal river of Gabon in west central Africa and the fifth largest river in Africa by volume of discharge, trailing only the Congo, Kasai, Niger and Zambezi. Its w ...

, and the Crystal Mountains. Tourists also come to see the famous hospital founded by Dr.

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

Lambaréné Lambaréné is a town and the capital of Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. It has a population of 38,775 as of 2013, and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator. Lambaréné is based in the Central African Rainforest at the river Ogooué. This rive ...

. Hunting is legal in specific areas from December to September.

History

Until recently, tourism has been neglected, replaced by the export of raw materials such as oil and wood. In 2000, however, the Gabonese government worked on developing the sector by developing luxury and niche tourism, such as bush expeditions or safari trips. The previous December, a postgraduate certificate in tourism was launched at the

University of Libreville Omar Bongo University (French: ''Université Omar Bongo'') a public university which was founded as the National University of Gabon in 1970. It was renamed in honor of President Omar Bongo in 1978. It is based in Libreville, and was the country' ...

. The only thing that stops Gabon from success is corruption. The

Guardian Book of Statistics Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...

rates Gabon as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. On September 4, 2002, Gabonese president

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...

announced that his country would set aside 10 percent of its land for a national park system. Previously, it had no organization of national parks, working with The

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

on conservation issues. Currently, the system comprises over , surpassed only by

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in the percentage on land area, though in the latter's case the area of conservation is much smaller. These new parks are being developed for ecotourism, as an economic alternative to exploiting Gabon’s forests for lumber. The project was applauded by Dr.

Steven Sanderson Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, as "one of the most courageous conservation acts in the last 20 years."

Attractions

National parks

Gabon's 13 national parks range from regions along its coastline, where hippopotamuses play on untouched beaches, to forest clearings home to "naive" gorillas.

Statistics

In 2000, there were about 2,450 hotel rooms. Roughly 155,000 tourists arrived that year, and tourism receipts totaled about $7 million. The year before, 120,000 foreigners arrived, with only 1 percent coming for tourism, and it accounted for between one and three percent of the

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...

(Gross Domestic Product). A visitor is required to have a passport and visa, except if they are from France, Germany, or several African countries. They are also to provide evidence of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

vaccination. The US Department of State estimated the average daily cost of staying in Gabon's capital of

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

at $182 per day as of 2002, with expenses elsewhere in the country as low as $70 per day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourism In Gabon

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...