The Angolan government has invested $20 million to construct a local hospitality training institute, Luanda Hotel School in a bid to boost the country’s tourism industry.

Luanda Hotel School site is located  in the capital Luanda and will train more than 500 hotel and tourism students at a time.

“The $20 million project, which is a both a working hotel and a hospitality school, is expected to open within 12 months and will have a capacity for 500 students will have 50 rooms, 12 classrooms and accommodation for 96 students,”said Angola’s Minister for Hotels and Tourism, Pedro Mutindi.

Angola’s tourism industry is relatively new, as much of the country was destroyed during the post-colonial civil war which ended in 2002.

The ten years following the 2002 peace agreement have witnessed a 300 percent rise in the number of visitors to Angola. In 2009, approximately 365,000 tourists visited Angola. Its tropical rainforests, mountain ranges, plunging waterfalls and winding rivers, desolate deserts and white sandy beaches have lucrative industry potential.

The Southern Africa nation has some of the largest, most remote and untouched wildlife parks on the planet. An incredible array of cultures, climates and landscapes make Angola Southern Africa’s final frontier. Angola has a growing surfing population;Cabo Ledo, a few hours south of Luanda, is a world famous surfing beach.