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Algeria plans to cut arrival visa fees for Sahara tourists by up to 60 percent

10 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria plans to cut arrival visa fees for Sahara tourists by up to 60 percent — Photo : blog.kazaden.com (adresse collée)

The government plans to slash the cost of the arrival regularization visa for foreign tourists visiting the Algerian Sahara, in a measure included in the 2027 Finance Bill, which is due for a parliamentary vote on 16 November.

Under the proposal, the fee would fall to 10,000 dinars for a stay of one to seven days, 15,000 dinars for eight to 15 days, and 20,000 dinars for 16 to 30 days. A visit of 16 to 30 days currently costs 50,000 dinars, a reduction of 60 percent. The visa was introduced in 2022 to facilitate tourist travel to the desert regions.

The explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill says the aim is to strengthen the country's attractiveness to tourists. The government presents tourism as one of the priority drivers of growth and job creation, part of its wider effort to diversify an economy still heavily dependent on hydrocarbons. According to the IMF, which has welcomed progress on diversification, Algeria's economy remains exposed to oil and gas price swings, and the 2027 budget assumes a conservative reference price of 60 dollars a barrel.

The Sahara covers roughly four-fifths of Algeria, Africa's largest country by area, and is its strongest tourism asset. It includes the Tassili n'Ajjer and Hoggar massifs, the oasis of Djanet, Taghit and Timimoun, and the M'zab Valley around Ghardaïa, a UNESCO World Heritage site. International travel media have recently included the country among Africa's best destinations and the Algerian Sahara among destinations worth visiting.

The bill gives no forecast of visitor numbers or revenue. Cheaper visas will be one test of whether lower costs, rather than infrastructure alone, can draw foreign visitors to the south.

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