Senegal wt/tpr/S/223/sen page Annex 2 senegal contents

(d) Maritime transport

1. 
   Under the GATS, Senegal has bound measures on the provision of supporting services for maritime transport without restriction, except for market access modes 1 and 4, and mode 4 in the case of national treatment.³²⁵
   
2. 
   All four Senegalese ports belong to the State. The Autonomous Port of Dakar (PAD) is a national company wholly owned by the State, but with management autonomy.³²⁶ Nearly 10 million tonnes of merchandise and about 23,000 vessels pass through the port each year. Senegal's main secondary ports are the ports of Ziguinchor³²⁷ and Kaolack ‑ which has little traffic. These ports are governed directly by the National Agency of Maritime Affairs (ANAM). In contrast, the platforms and hangars used to receive merchandise are managed by the regional Chambers of Commerce. Each of the ports is operated under concession agreement by the regional Chambers of Commerce. The port of Saint-Louis includes a commercial and a fishing port that has been operated under concession by the regional Chamber of Commerce since 1992. Although the agreement has expired, the Chamber of Commerce continues to rent the space. The three regional Chambers of Commerce collect fees but do not appear to abide by the terms and conditions in practice. In summary, the main secondary ports are 100 per cent owned by the State, under two different regimes (State, and private through the Chambers of Commerce).
   
3. 
   The PAD plays a key role, not only as the only access route to the large international markets, but also because it handles a large part of the rail-route modal split in "long-distance" traffic destined for Mali.³²⁸ Port administration operates harbour-master services and all port commercial services: piloting services, berthing, provisioning of ships with water, and merchandise stop-over services (rental of covered and uncovered storage units). Private companies approved by a Commission are in charge of activities such as consignment, handling, transit, towing and other provisioning. Harbour-master services in the secondary ports are provided by the ANAM, while other services are the responsibility of the Chambers of Commerce.
   
4. 
   Given the competition that exists between ports in the subregion³²⁹, the Government wants to bring reception infrastructure and service costs in the PAD up to international standards and turn it into a port of which only the basic port infrastructures belong to the State and long-term concessions are offered to private operators to operate and modernize them. Under this scheme, the PAD would maintain all of its price-setting and service quality functions. Major works to expand reception capacity and modernize infrastructure are already under way. With regard to the concession of container terminals in the north zone, the first phase aimed to extend the container terminal and build a third dockside unit, which was done in 2008. The second phase, in which the concession holder is to build the "port of the future", is scheduled for 2012. Work on rehabilitation and extension projects for pier 2 and to construct a 20 ha. distribution platform close to the port, along with a maritime station, was completed in 2008; procedures to implement the concession have begun. Senegal also wants to move towards more economical mass transport, by using river and river‑maritime barges, a 900‑tonne barge being equivalent to thirty 30-tonne trucks. This mode of transport also makes it possible to operate at night, which is an additional advantage over road transport.
   
5. 
   At the international level, Senegal's maritime transport is governed by the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL); nationally, companies are free to transport merchandise of all types to and from Senegal. In addition, companies providing ancillary maritime transport services are free to set up in the country, provided they obtain an authorization generally granted upon filing of an application, without nationality conditions. There are no longer any Senegalese-owned vessels, although vessels engaged in cabotage must be registered in Senegal. A specific exception for oil transport by foreign vessels was agreed upon but has now expired. The only company authorized to engage in national cabotage is Transport maritime côtier (TMC), which has two ships.
   
6. 
   Various instruments adopted in the WAEMU framework set conditions governing domestic, intra‑Community and international maritime transport within the Union, and aim to harmonize maritime transport policy among member States (joint report, Chapter I(3)(ii)(a)).
   
7. 
   Following a 9.2 per cent fall to 9.93 million tonnes in 2006, total merchandise traffic in the PAD rose by 11.9 per cent in 2007 to reach a level of 11.109 million tonnes. This growth was driven by a sharp increase in oil shipments (+101.8 per cent) and miscellaneous merchandise (+14.63 per cent), despite a 10.32 per cent reduction in shipments of refined hydrocarbons, following the resumption of production by the SAR. The volume of merchandise unloaded at the PAD has fluctuated since 2004: +12.3 per cent in 2005; -4.7 per cent in 2006; and +14.8 per cent in 2007. The number ship stopovers decreased by 0.58 per cent in 2007. Overall, between 1997 and 2007, port traffic grew by 11.88 per cent.³³⁰ The total volume of merchandise shipments varied around 2 million tonnes per year between 1999 and 2007, with a peak of 3 million tonnes in 2003. Phosphate shipments have grown strongly since 2006, following the steady resumption of activities by the ICS: shipments in 2007 were up by 33.77 per cent.
   

2. Tourism

1. 
   Tourism is Senegal's second leading source of export earnings after fisheries, but ahead of groundnut and petroleum products. The sector directly contributes up to 4.6 per cent of GDP, and around 6.8 per cent overall (directly and indirectly); it also employs 75,000 people directly and a further 25,000 indirectly.³³¹ Accommodation infrastructure increased by 10.4 per cent in 2002 and by 14.1 per cent in 2003. Thanks to its cultural and natural assets and the strong competitiveness of its tourist products, Senegal receives about 700,000 tourists a year, with accommodation capacity of 20,000 beds distributed among 320 hotels.³³² The strategy for safeguarding and making the most of national tourism potential, set out in the Tourism Development Sector Policy Letter (LPS) of September 2005, aims to attract 1.5 million tourists in 2010, and 2 million in 2015, compared to the current level of 900,000.³³³ In 2007, tourist arrivals at the LSS airport were up by 5.1 per cent in relation to the 2006 figure.³³⁴ Arrivals by non-residents accounted for 68.3 per cent of the total in 2007, while residents represented 25.4 per cent, and passengers in transit 6.4 per cent. This situation generated foreign exchange inflows estimated at CFAF 138.7 billion in 2007, compared to CFAF 130.8 billion in 2006.³³⁵
   
2. 
   Under the GATS, Senegal has undertaken commitments on the provision of hotel and restaurant services (cross-border supply and presence of natural persons are unbound); travel agency and tourism organization services (presence of natural persons is unbound); sports and other recreational services (cross-border supply and presence of natural persons are unbound as regards market access, and presence of natural persons is unbound in terms of national treatment); and gambling and betting services (cross-border supply is unbound in terms of market access, and presence of natural persons is unbound for market access and national treatment). In the case of market access, commercial presence requires a permit to supply each of these services categories, except for gambling and betting, where "Lonase" is the exclusive concession holder.³³⁶
   
3. 
   The Government wants to turn tourism into a development pillar, and the sector is listed as essential in the Private Sector Development (DSP), Poverty Reduction (PRSP), Export Development (STRADEX), and Accelerated Growth (SCA) strategies. The Tourism Development Sector Policy Letter (LPS) adopted in September 2005, defines three specific objectives: increase the range of Senegalese beach tourism products; make Dakar the international business tourism pole in West Africa, for African‑based Congresses and international meetings; and develop top-of-the-range niche tourism, in the cultural and eco-tourism areas. This goal should be achieved on two strategic fronts ‑ an upgraded beach tourism product and top-of-the-range business, cultural and eco‑tourism products ‑ involving five key objectives.³³⁷
   
4. 
   Tourism administration has also been reformed by the adoption of a National Tourism Charter in April 2003.³³⁸ This provides responses to the infrastructure deficit; lack of involvement by Senegalese nationals; quality of accommodation; conservation of the environment; and weakness of tourism promotion media.³³⁹ The Charter also stresses the protection of tourists and cultural or natural heritage, and requires local labour to be preferred in conditions of equal skill. In addition, tourism promotion is the responsibility of the National Tourist Promotion Agency (ANPT)³⁴⁰, created in 2004, which is required, among other things, to provide technical assistance as needed to the public or private partners involved in the subsector. The Ministry of Tourism plays a chiefly administrative role.³⁴¹
   
5. 
   The scope of the Senegalese Coasts and Tourist Zone Development and Promotion Company (SAPCO) has been extended to cover the entire coast and zones of tourist interest (ZIT). The Dakar, Thiès and Ziguinchor regions account for nearly 80 per cent of the supply of national tourism services, while certain regions such as Saint-Louis, despite having potential, account for less than 5 per cent.³⁴² With full jurisdiction over upstream and downstream land management on tourist sites³⁴³ SAPCO will develop three new tourist zones at Joal Finio, Mbodiène and Pointe Sarène, and upgrade existing sites.³⁴⁴ Opportunities for hotel investment in Senegal are highly dependent on these tourist zones. The Investment Code sets a minimum eligibility threshold of CFAF 100 million for the granting of customs duty, fiscal and social incentives to undertake a tourism project (Chapter II).³⁴⁵
   

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