Editorial method: sources, verification and independence

Is Visit Djibouti an official site?

No. And that answer must be read before anything else on this site.

Visit Djibouti is an independent publication. It is neither published, nor funded, nor affiliated by the Djibouti National Tourism Agency, nor by its portals visitdjibouti.dj and guide.visitdjibouti.dj. The official Djiboutian tourism site is that of the National Tourism Agency.

Why state it so explicitly? Because our domain name, visit-djibouti.com, is close to the official brand visitdjibouti.dj. That proximity is a fact, not a claim: we do not seek to suggest an affiliation, and we refuse to maintain an ambiguity that would mislead the reader.

Consequently, and without exception:

• no page of this site claims to speak on behalf of a Djiboutian institution;
• no official data is presented as validated by the National Tourism Agency;
• any official information cited is tied to its source, with a link to the original portal;
• the independence notice also appears in the footer of every page of the site, and not only here.

What sources do we work from?

Our source hierarchy is explicit, and it applies to every page.

1. Official Djiboutian portals. It is the only category with authority on entry formalities, protected areas and statistics. We consult in priority:

• the Djibouti National Tourism Agency (ant.dj), for sites, protected areas and the tourist offer;
• INSTAD (instad.dj), the national statistics institute, for quantified data on visitor numbers and the tourism economy;
• the official e-Visa portal (evisa.gouv.dj), for entry rules, required documents and visa rates.

2. Field records. Distances covered, observed journey times, condition of tracks, seasons really workable, price ranges noted with providers. It is this category that produces the material official sources do not provide.

3. Secondary publications. Specialist press, books, reports from international organisations. They serve to cross-check an isolated point, never to found a claim on their own.

How do we verify what we publish?

Three rules, applied without exception.

A source for every figure. Every numerical claim must be tied to a consultable source. The list of sources appears at the foot of every page. When a figure comes from a field record, we say so.

No invented figure. When data cannot be sourced, we do not estimate it silently: we say so. The page then uses a qualitative formulation, or explicitly flags that it is an order of magnitude intended to compare two options, and not a binding rate.

Volatile data is isolated. Rates, timetables and entry rules change. When a page mentions them, it flags that and refers to the source that carries authority. The firm price of a service is never published here: it is displayed on the platform that sells it.

How often do we update?

Every page carries two distinct dates: the publication date and the update date. Both appear at the top of the page.

The information reviewed first is that which ages fastest: indicative rates, ferry crossing timetables, entry rules and visa formalities, access arrangements for protected areas. Then come seasons and track conditions. Geographical and heritage content, which evolves slowly, is reviewed less often but remains dated.

Our correction policy is simple: an error reported and confirmed leads to the page being amended and its update date refreshed. We never correct content while keeping the original date, because that would amount to concealing the correction from the reader.

How do our commercial links work?

Dalmar is our commercial booking partner, and that partnership is flagged — never concealed.

In practice: some pages carry links to offers bookable on dalmar.app. Those links are recognisable by two signs: the button label (for example “Book the day excursion to Lake Assal”) and the mention “Book with Dalmar” that accompanies them. They point to offers verified in the partner’s catalogue. This site receives a consideration when a booking is made through those links.

What that partnership does not change:

• no page is written to promote an offer. The editorial content — access, seasons, difficulty, precautions — is established independently of the existence of a service for sale;
• a destination with no available offer is still documented normally. The absence of a commercial link leads to neither the removal nor the weakening of a page;
• warnings and reservations are published as they are. When a beach is not recommended for swimming, when a site requires a 4×4, when a season is to be avoided, the page says so — including for sites that are sold commercially.

How are those principles applied in practice?

Two examples are worth more than a statement of intent.

On accommodation, we have no reliable public price record for the hotel sector of Djibouti City. The page where to stay in Djibouti says so plainly and presents its ranges as orders of magnitude intended to compare neighbourhoods with one another — not as rates. The binding price is the one displayed by the booking platform.

On natural sites, we state the real constraints even when they work against a place’s image: the heat of Lake Assal in summer, the length of the Lake Abbé track, the absence of organised rescue on remote sites. That information appears in the pages, including where a paid offer exists for the site concerned.

Who applies this method?

The organisation of the editorial team, its roles and the signing of content are set out on the page our team. Content is currently signed collectively by the editorial team, and identified contributors will be named when they join the site.

To go further into our content, start with the overview what to see in Djibouti, then the destination pages, the itineraries and the practical pages.