The Burkinabè government took measures on Wednesday to regulate the phenomenon of furnished villas, these equipped houses rented for a few hours or days, and which compete unfairly with officially recognized accommodation establishments .

The Council of Ministers of Wednesday June 7, 2023 adopted five implementing decrees for the Tourism Orientation Law, adopted in April 2020.

One of these implementing decrees relates to the regulation of tourist accommodation establishments.

“In the accommodation sector, for example, we have a certain number of activities today which are gaining momentum. We can cite the furnished villas which are flourishing in our big cities but which, until now, have escaped regulation, ”explained the Minister in charge of Tourism, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo.

“Furnished villas” refer to houses with everything necessary, which their owners rent for a few hours or for short stays, without paying any tax, unlike the owners of officially recognized accommodation establishments.

Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo also noted the need to regulate the host and hostess agency sector.

“We see hostesses at all the ceremonies, also in many companies. But the sector suffers from a lack of regulation”, justified the minister.

As a reminder, the implementing decrees issued yesterday concern: the regulation of tourist accommodation and leisure establishments; the issuance of the license of host agencies and hostesses; issuance of travel and tourism operator licenses; operation and classification of tourist restaurants.

According to Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, the deadlines for issuing authorizations will drop from 45 to 30 days.

These measures will make it possible to improve the working conditions of all entrepreneurs and operators in the tourism sector, to guarantee fair competition, to provide control tools to the ministry, to create jobs and make a better contribution to the state budget, the minister concluded.

Source: Burkina Information Agency