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Africans touring Africa

But how about Africans on the continent exploring tourism relations among themselves? Tourism is one of the most promising sectors in Africa. It has the prospective of not only driving economic growth, it also fosters integrated development. Nations that benefit the most include Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia and Tanzania. Others like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mauritius can be considered as countries that have steady and consistent income from tourism.

In general, key points of tourism Africa rest in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity and multitudes of landscapes as well as the rich cultural heritage.

Successful countries in tourism thrive due to a range of factors. Countries like Morocco and Tunisia benefit from their beautiful beaches and their relative proximity to Europe. Tourism in Egypt is based on the rich history of Ancient Egypt, pyramids, artifacts and breathtaking Red Sea beaches.
South Africa and Kenya benefit from wild safari expeditions, attracting tourists to see the wildlife of Africa.

Against this background, one can imagine the wealth of products when Africans focus on tourism among themselves. Enabling the free movement of people on the continent is key to boosting intra-African tourism. As many countries struggle with low economic growth rates, combined with high levels of poverty and unemployment, greater intra-African tourism can be an impetus for socio-economic development — as well as contributing to Africa’s economic diversification efforts.

Economic growth in sub-saharan Africa is projected to only slightly accelerate to 2.7 per cent this year. While the moderate increase in GDP is welcome news, the region has struggled to return to the relatively high growth rates of more than 4 per cent that it experienced before 2019.

The slow-down of Africa’s economic growth over the last few years is partly due to low commodity prices. Several countries depend heavily on natural resources such as oil and metals for revenue.
This dependency has proven costly, often leaving countries in a precarious position; when commodity prices take a sharp dive these economies struggle and go through periods of sluggish growth, which reduces their ability to meet development needs.

While Africa’s tourism sector has been growing in recent years, with the continent boasting 67 million arrivals and USD 37 billion in tourist receipts in 2019, the continent’s share of global international tourist arrivals and revenues in 2019 only accounted for 5 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

This is reflective of the significant challenges that continue to hamstring the sector, including the difficulty associated with obtaining the required documentation to visit countries within the continent.
Too often, stringent visa requirements and cumbersome application processes serve as an impediment to potential African tourists, depriving countries of additional and diversified revenues.

This reality was captured in the 2017 Africa Visa Openness Index, a tool which ranks African states based on their visa requirements for other countries on the continent.
According to the index, on average, Africans need visas to enter 55 per cent of countries on their own continent. While more countries have made it easier for African visitors to enter their territory since the Index was launched, restrictions on entry remain widespread.


Poor road and air connectivity, in addition to high transport costs, are also significant constraints on the sector. These challenges must be addressed in concert with enabling the free movement of people, if intra-African tourism is to thrive.

A sharper focus on tourism can stimulate job creation and infrastructure development, while contributing to economic growth and to Africa’s much-needed economic diversification. It can have a multiplier effect on several other economic sectors including construction, agriculture and transport– all of which play a pivotal role in any country’s economic growth and development. Because African tourism is largely not seasonal as it is in Europe and North America, for example, the continent can gain from the sector year-round.

Recognising the importance of tourism to fulfilling Africa’s development imperatives, the sector has increasingly become a priority for the African Union (AU). The first 10-year implementation plan of the AU’s Agenda 2063 aims to double the number of intra-African tourists by 2023.
The benefits of increased intra-African tourism are clear. Recent measures such as the adoption of the free movement protocol by the African Union are steps in the right direction. But the success of intra-African tourism hinges on the ratification and implementation of such protocols in addition to tackling challenges such as high transport costs and infrastructural deficits that continue to hold back Africa’s tourism sector.

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