Benguela Hotel Association opens its own headquarters 29 years later.

Founded in 1995, at the encouragement of the then Secretary of State for Tourism, Paulino Baptista, a challenge, however, embraced by the Benguela class, the Benguela Hotel and Tourism Association has been officially legalized since the end of 2011.





br> Currently, AHTUB, whose first president was hotelier Jorge Gabriel, who led the association's destinations until 2023, has 64 members.

Speaking at the inaugural event, the now president of AHTUB, Cláudio Silva, announced that this is the first step in the ambitious program of the new management, installed on December 11, 2023.

Cláudio Silva, believing that there will be great opportunities for tourism from 2024 to 2025, says that the Benguela Hotel Association could not continue without having a space to serve members and partners.

However, AHTUB's top manager admits that the opening of this office is, in essence, a continuity project, as it was already part of the outgoing management's objectives.

Cláudio Silva made it known that the opening of the association's headquarters and its equipment were financed by the AHTUB management itself, within the scope of the three-year mandate.

"This is also a space with images about the tourist attractions of the province of Benguela", he said. And he expressed satisfaction because, from now on, AHTUB is properly identified and located, to receive members and sponsors.

The leader of hotel and tourism operators in Benguela explains that this space will operate for a year and a half, as the objective is to find another permanent location.
To this end, he revealed the existence of a project that aims to acquire a permanent space for members

. "We will work with the municipal administration and the Provincial Government to provide us with adequate space," he said
. For him, the idea is to have a space where, in addition to the association, a tourist information point in the province can be installed.
"We have three years of work and we are going to work quickly", he stressed.

Representing the Provincial Government of Benguela, the director of the Office of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports, Rosália Tchitali, praised the dynamics of the new management of AHTUB, as, in such a short time, it managed to open the body's headquarters.

Rosália Tchitali also asked for greater cooperation between the Association and the office responsible for Tourism in the province, in order to give another boost to the sector.
"All together we will take tourism forward", she assured. Satisfied members

Mércia Melo hopes that the inauguration of the headquarters will be unequivocal proof that the association wants to look more closely at its members in the near future.
"In the past, hoteliers had nowhere to turn," she recalled, to whom members will now be able to present their concerns, with a view to improving services. José Correia, manager of the "Tudo na Brasa" Restaurant, now sees the conditions in place so that the class can improve the quality of the services provided.
Considering it to be a turning point, the restaurant businessman says that the office is also a place to support tourists entering and leaving Benguela, to "eat or sleep".

João Correia, owner of the Restaurant "O Fado", in Lobito, has the same opinion, recognizing that the AHTUB headquarters will help all tourists who visit Benguela.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the office is a strong link between tourists and the various tourism services in the province, such as accommodation, restaurants, automobile mobility, travel agencies and visits to tourist attractions.

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