Tuareg peace deal revives Niger tourism hopes

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's tattered tourism industry is hoping a rebel peace deal will be its salvation.

Four weeks after Tuareg fighters signed an agreement with the governments of Niger and Mali to lay down their arms, tour agency Point Afrique said it will resume flights from France to the city of Agadez -- a one-time top African tourist draw left virtually marooned by a two-year insurgency.

The town, known for its picturesque 16th century mosque, quaint 'old city', and proximity to the vast desert dunes, is now hoping the thousands of people who used to visit every year will start to return.

"Tourism in this area means life," said Bernard Lompo of Agadez travel agency Nigercar.

Before Tuareg rebels stepped up attacks in the uranium mining powerhouse in 2007, some 5,000 tourists used to arrive in Agadez annually, spending 3 billion CFA and putting the region among the most active travel destinations in sub-Sarahan Africa.

By 2007, visits and spending dropped by half, according to the Niger government, leaving the local economy in ruins.

"In Agadez it is tourism that feeds people, directly or indirectly, but the recurring rebellions have ruined everything," said Boubacar Moussa, an Agadez taxi driver.

Nomadic Tuaregs fighters have launched periodic uprisings in the Sahara since the 1960s, and the latest insurgency this decade has added instability in a region where al Qaeda cells also operate.

Earlier this year al Qaeda killed British tourist Edwin Dyer, one of four European travelers taken hostage near the Niger-Mali border.

Tuareg groups signed a comprehensive peace deal in early October, with most factions agreeing to disarm. But similar deals in the past two years have fallen apart as splintered Tuareg factions reneged on the pledges.

Point Afrique said it has scheduled regular flights from Marseilles, France, starting December 27.