Lower Casamance as the setting
The official ceremony was held in Kabrousse, in the municipality of Diembéring, in the presence of the administrative and customary authorities of Oussouye, Kabrousse, Diembéring and Mlomp, among others. Organised with the Federation of Tourist Offices and Tourism Boards of Senegal (FOSITS) and the Tourism Board of the Ziguinchor region (SITZ), with the participation of the Tourism Promotion Directorate, the day continued with a panel on the digital promotion of the destination, in front of the ministry's general and national directors and regional services.
The choice of Casamance was no accident. “Casamance does not need to be invented, it needs to be served,” the minister declared.
“The amplifiers of our Teranga”
Alpha Thiam set the course plainly: “Digital technology and artificial intelligence must not replace our authenticity: they must help us reveal it better. They are not the enemies of our Teranga; they must be its amplifiers.”
“Today's traveller is hyperconnected; they look for authentic and personalised experiences, and destinations are now fighting a real battle on digital platforms,” he went on, citing France, which already offers its visitors an artificial intelligence assistant, and Morocco, which has placed AI at the heart of its tourism marketing. Senegal, he said, will not be a spectator of this revolution: “Rethinking our tourism through digital technology means preparing the future of our territories, our young people and our economy.”
What was announced
- A smart “Visit Senegal” platform and a tourism data observatory, under the Technology New Deal and the Senegal 2050 National Transformation Agenda, with the Senegalese Tourism Promotion Agency and the National Agency for Statistics and Demography.
- A one-stop shop for the whole sector.
- Four commitments: circuits linking the sites; craft villages and cultural venues; hotels that buy Senegalese furniture and decoration; a unified events calendar, from the Dakar Biennale to the Youth Olympic Games, from the Saint-Louis Jazz Festival to the major religious gatherings.
- A call to citizens, content creators and local media to promote the country's assets on digital platforms.
A candid diagnosis
The minister did not sidestep the weaknesses: “Our destination is still too expensive”, “our air connectivity is a problem”, “our tourist roads are degraded”, and the offer remains “too concentrated on beach tourism and on a single season”. He nonetheless declared: “Senegal is back! Senegal is back on the African and global tourism stage.”
What business tourism can expect
A seminar organiser or a congress buyer makes their decision online first: dates, capacity, access, budget. Several of the Kabrousse announcements answer these questions. A unified events calendar makes it possible to schedule a congress without clashing with a major event — or, on the contrary, to build on one. A data observatory will give hotels and receptive agencies figures to size their offer.
As for the two weaknesses named first, the cost of the destination and air access, they are also among the first objections a European buyer raises to a seminar in Senegal. Seeing them named at this level is already a starting point.
In Saly, coconut palms for the Games
Elsewhere in the country, the Collective of Tourism Stakeholders in Senegal (CATS) marked the day in Saly with a reforestation and beautification initiative, planting coconut palms and cordia trees, ahead of the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026.
The Platform's View
Teral Travel publishes the MICE Calendar of Senegal: 35 listed events, each with its source. For the major events of the season — SENHABITAT, Dak'Art, MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power — a practical page helps visitors get there, find accommodation and get around.
Statements by the Minister of Culture, Crafts and Tourism on World Tourism Day, 27 September 2026 in Kabrousse, as reported by the ministry and the Senegalese press (APS, Emedia, Osiris). Quotations translated from French by Teral Travel.
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