Cuito — The owner of the luxurious South African train called 'Rovos Rail', Rohan Rovos, reaffirmed on Monday in the city of Cuito, Bié province, the commitment to continue transporting international tourists, with the aim of increasingly promoting the image of Angola abroad.
Rohan Rovos was speaking to the local press, moments after arriving in Cuito, from Luena.
On board the Ravos Rail travel 60 tourists, including Americans, Canadians, Australians, South Africans, Brazilians among other nationalities.
This is the sixth time that Rovos Rail has called at the country, coming from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
The locomotive, with 22 wagons, has already passed through the municipalities of Luau and Luena, Moxico province, through the Benguela Railway (CFB).
In the city of Cuito, tourists began by visiting the memorial of the battle of Cuito, where they received detailed explanations of the process of exhumation and burial of the bodies as well as the center of the capital city of Bié.
Speaking to ANGOP, at the end of the visit of a few hours, the owner of the train, Rovos Rohan, said that there is a great interest from foreign citizens to get to know Angola.
He said that, since 2019, when he launched this challenge, the interest of foreign citizens in joining the trip is greater, so he intends to continue in this endeavor.
Rovos Rohan considered Angola a country of peace and hospitable, with a people of multiple cultures, assumptions that tend to draw the attention of other people in the world.
However, tourist Anderson Freitas de Brito, of Brazilian nationality, who is traveling for the first time, said that he has always wanted to visit Angola, as it is a Portuguese-speaking country.
'I found in this train the opportunity I was waiting for to get to know this beautiful country from the inside, in a single trip,' he said.
The 39-year-old tourist considered spectacular the little he can already see since the beginning of the trip from Luau, in Moxico, and now in Cuito, Bié, highlighting the natural beauties along the branch as well as the cultural diversity of the people.
In this way, he said it is necessary for Angolans to continue to preserve peace so that there is more development.
Pieter du Plessis, from South Africa, who shared the same idea, believes that only with political stability, this African country can continue to be in the spotlight worldwide.
The tourist who travels for the second time, after 2021, said that along with other African countries they pass through, in Angola, he finds a feeling of brotherhood, so he requested the maintenance of peace at any cost.
Australian Anne Cristowf, 80, who is also traveling for the first time, said she had been waiting for a place on Rovos Rail for two years, having highlighted the joy of getting to know Angola.
The woman, who has traveled to several countries for tourism, said that of everything that was said about African countries, such as Angola and the Democratic Congo, her family prevented her from visiting them, however, she said that the trip is showing the opposite.
'I'm capturing everything, I have extraordinary images, both from Congo and Angola, also what I can show my children and encourage them to come here too,' he said.
In turn, the tourist director of the Rovos Rail train, Nicolas Schofield, which is travelling for the fourth consecutive time, said that tourists are portraying Angola as the country of prosperity, due to the progress made in 22 years of peace.
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The conversation between them focuses on the rehabilitation of communication routes, especially with the full recovery of railway lines, and some roads and bridges, which is allowing the movement of people and goods more safely.
The head of the provincial department of tourism, Graciano Augusto Júlio, who guided the itinerary of the visit, highlighted the presence of these tourists in the region, highlighting their importance for the country.
Therefore, he defended the need for the Government to continue to invest in this sector, to attract more people, both foreign and national. The convoy has already gone to the province of Huambo. LB/PLB/DOJ
