Tourism in Africa

Africa currently accounts for approximately 15% of the world’s population yet the continent only receives around 3% of annual global tourism arrivals. Although the tourism sector is currently growing at a momentous rate of around 8% p.a., more could be done to unlock the continents full tourism potential. Additionally, the development of the tourism industry could be used as a vehicle of economic growth.

Empirical evidence shows that Africa currently benefits from strong demographics, with almost 70% of the continents population being below the age of 25. According to the African Development Bank, 60% of the under 25 population are currently unemployed. The development of the tourism sector, which already employs over 12 million people in Africa, could play a significant role in job creation. The potential economic benefits of a significant expansion in the tourism sector are striking.
The obstacles

Despite the potential for growth, the expansion of the tourism industry presents many challenges. A World Bank report on African tourism set out the key limitations at a national level as follows:

• Poor infrastructure development – roads, medical centres, hotels and airports
• A lack of skilled workers
• Weak price competitiveness
• Difficulties in obtaining visas
• Lack of legislative support from the government
• Difficulties in obtaining land ownership

Evidence suggests that for countries in the early stages of developing tourism, it is important for the public and private sectors to form strategic partnerships for critical investments.
From the perspective of governments, African countries could do more to promote niche sectors to international travellers to diversify from the traditional beach and safari holidays. That is something that Rwanda has done very well in developing a multi-million mountain gorilla’s attraction. The attraction has also benefited the local community by helping to improve infrastructure and schools in the nearby area.

Models for success
In North Africa both Egypt and Morocco have developed successful tourism models although this may be due to the two countries close proximity to Europe. Elsewhere, sub-Sahara Africa could look to Thailand in South East Asia to emulate the countries tourism success. Looking back 30 years ago, there was no tourism sector in Thailand. Today, Thailand is a tourist hotspot welcoming 26.7 million tourist arrivals in 2013 alone and the sector currently employs around 20% of the total labour force.
Across Africa there has been a growing trend with governments initiating the development of local tourism. In particular, countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique and Rwanda have driven the growth of their tourism industries by relaxing visa requirements and driving legislative reforms. Kenya and Ghana recently announced a strategic partnership to promote various tourism attractions in the two countries.

The African business traveller
One area that remains largely untapped across sub-Saharan is the development of the business traveller sector. South Africa is an exception having successfully developed a successful business model to compete with the Western world. However, the vast majority of continent currently lacks the facilities required for business travellers such as conference centres. Given the focus on the African renaissance, there has been a surge in business related travel to Africa. Consequently this may drive the development of much needed business facilities.

The future of tourism
Africa’s tourism is already on the rise, however if the continent is to unlock its full potential greater investment in the sector is required. In South East Asia, the benefits of tourism have included job creation, poverty alleviation and an improvement in living standards. This has helped to drive forward the removal of constraints such as visa restrictions and infrastructure development.