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Main
Economic Sectors Telecommunication Senegal has a land satellite communication station, a sub marine cable center equipped with over 5,000 telephone circuits, an international telex center, two radio emitting centers and a decimetric wave system. The fiber optic rate is 92%. The main telephone customers access to a package of specialized services including Internet connection through several private operators. This activity is open to competition. Cellular phones have mushroomed over night. The Dakar region is entirely covered, and so are most of the interior zones in the country (Saint-Louis, Louga, Thies, Touba, Mbacké, Kaolack, Mbour, Ziguinchor, Kolda, Tambacounda) Important programs were initiated to improve and modernize telecommunication facilities. Likewise steps were taken to accompany the privatization of SONATEL, the main actor in the area of telecommunication in Senegal.
Tourism in Senegal "SENEGALESE TERANGA" can be translated as "Hospitality", but its true meaning is expressed by a traditional manner of welcoming guests, where attentions and respect are plied with the pleasure of receiving a guest at home. In the villages, you will be struck by the special charm and spontaneity of the people. Senegal offers a thousand ways of looking, and they are smiling . Even if you spend just a brief time to discover this country, you will never forget the faces, and they will never forget your name. Here there are always warm experiences to cherish, for doors as well as hearts remain open. The surprising diversity of nature, the mild climate, the discovery of new cultures and secular traditions are just a few of the many charming reasons to come and meet Senegal. This is the country of TERANGA: a pleasant way of life, hospitable villages. A true human experience awaits you, along with people ready to share their kindness and authenticity with you. Senegal possesses substantial assets, due to the diversity of the products it can offer to its visitors. There are sea resorts, conference tourism, discovery tourism, sports fishing, ecotourism, hunting and opportunities for cultural discovery. Senegal is located on the westernmost point of the African continent, at the edge of Atlantic, and remains a prime destination for tourism in Sub Saharan Africa. This sector grew by leaps and bounds from 1994 to 1996, despite a slight 5-6% drop in 1996 (due in part to social events in France, which occurred during the 1995 /1996 high season for tourism). Leisure tourism suffered somewhat from that situation, unlike business tourism, which centered mainly on Dakar and showed a 5% growth compared to 1996. Senegal's Tourist Market is chiefly concentrated over six regions: Dakar, Thiès, Ziguinchor, Saint-Louis, Kaolack and Tambacounda. It remains diversified in terms of products. The total lodging capacity is as follows: (1999):
The Dakar region covers 35% of total capacity, Thies 26% and Ziguinchor 22%. Leisure tourism-in camps, vacation village is still predominant, and developing particularly in the Petite Côte (Little Coast) area, in Casamance and in the Fatick region. The Tourism Management Office conducts an analysis of tourist demand based on tourists' arrivals, nights spent and length of stay in the hotels and vacation villages. Nevertheless, these statistics do not present an exact picture of the situation, for those tourists who spend their vacation with friends and relatives are not counted. In 1999 the total number of arrivals was estimated at 501,695 not including 8,863 cruise tourists:
Electricity The National Electricity Company (SENELEC) operates the exploitation of the existing facilities. The production, exclusively thermal is 307 MW for the 6 plants : Cap des Biches (Dakar), Bel-Air (Dakar), Ziguinchor, Saint-Louis, Kaolack et Tambacounda. Nevertheless, some industries produce their own electricity to meet their needs, from steam, biomass or groundnut coke. The Manantali dam built by OMVS (the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River), should produce over 800 000 KWH, mostly for the Eastern and Central regions. SENELEC has undertaken a vast program to :
Mining Sector
Fishing This sub sector is marked by the following particulars:
Therefore in order to rationally and harmoniously develop, this sub sector requires state's attention to implement:
Privatization The government intends to accelerate the privatisation process by withdrawing from all commercial activities by end 2000, through privatising the remaining financial and non-financial public enterprises. Some opportunities:
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