{"id":46461,"date":"2012-08-18T15:41:35","date_gmt":"2012-08-18T15:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=46461"},"modified":"2012-08-18T15:41:35","modified_gmt":"2012-08-18T15:41:35","slug":"tourism-in-africa-is-slowly-coming-of-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=46461","title":{"rendered":"Tourism in Africa is slowly coming of age"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jet-lagged, 500 delegates from around the world arrived in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in May to deliberate on the path to Africa\u2019s tourism future. To unwind, Zimbabwe\u2019s Tourism Authority, host of the congress of the Africa Travel Association (ATA), had organized a fun-filled welcome. The delegates toured Victoria Falls \u2014 one of the world\u2019s seven natural wonders \u2014 where they participated in bungee jumping, gorge swinging and zip-lining over the Zambezi River. They then went on safari, encountering lions and elephants. Later they savoured local cuisine and danced enthusiastically to traditional music.\u00a0 (Photo: One of the many beautiful beaches of Sierra Leone)<\/em><\/p>\n

The host\u2019s intention was clear: see, feel and believe. Zimbabwe\u2019s showcasing spoke louder than routine speeches. It spurred tourism ministers from Ghana, Namibia, Uganda and other African countries to become bullish about the continent\u2019s potential. Said US Ambassador Charles A. Ray, \u201cZimbabwe, even with its political uncertainty, is a potentially huge market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tourism watchers are upbeat. In 2004, the New Partnership for Africa\u2019s Development (NEPAD) approved an action plan to make Africa the \u201c21st century destination.\u201d Taleb Rifai, secre\u00adtary-general of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), recently stated that \u201cAfrica has been one of the fastest-growing tourism regions of the last decade.\u201d The sector already employs about 7.7 million people in Africa. Mr. Rifai cited data showing steady increases in Africa\u2019s tourist arrivals, from 37 million in 2003 to 58 million in 2009.<\/p>\n

Tourism revenues are the lifeline of many economies. About 50 per cent of Seychelles\u2019 gross domestic product (GDP) comes from tourism. The rates are 30 per cent in Cape Verde, 25 per cent in Mauritius and 16 per cent in Gambia. The World Bank reports that tourism accounts for 8.9 per cent of East Africa\u2019s GDP, 7.2 per cent of North Africa\u2019s, 5.6 of West Africa\u2019s and 3.9 per cent of Southern Africa\u2019s. In Central Africa, tourism contributes just 1 per cent.<\/p>\n

Despite the chest-thumping, Africa\u2019s share of global tourist arrivals is relatively small. There were 980 million international tourist arrivals in 2011, of which only 50 million traveled to Africa. North Africa suffered a 12 per cent loss in 2011 from the previous year due to that region\u2019s political unrest, denting the continent\u2019s share of international arrivals. But that loss was partially offset by a 7 per cent uptick in sub- Saharan Africa, which gained 2 million arrivals. Overall, the 2011 data shows that Africa performed better than the Middle East, which lost 5 million arrivals. Generally, the continent\u2019s top earners are Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius, according to UNWTO.<\/p>\n

The East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc, hopes to attract tourists from other parts of the world \u2014 not just the West \u2014 to go to different parts of East Africa \u2014 not just Kenya and Tanzania. The EAC strategy, devel\u00adoped in 2006, includes using DVDs, brochures and other materials to promote the region as a bloc. At interna\u00adtional tourism conferences, East Africa now speaks with one voice.<\/p>\n

What draws tourists to a country, region or continent? \u201cI wanted to see something different from Europe and I decided to visit Kenya and Tanzania. It is a different feel I got, and I like that,\u201d Sven Brun, from Norway, tells Africa Renewal<\/em>. The McKinsey Global Institute, a think tank, maintains that tourists are attracted to countries with good infrastructure, safety and security, and sanitation. Janet Kiwia, the managing director of World Jet Travel and Tours in Tanzania, adds that bad roads, poorly maintained airports, power outages and other shortcomings keep tourists away.<\/p>\n

There are concerns over the safety of Africa\u2019s aircraft and airspace. In just two days in June, two planes crashed in Nigeria and Ghana, killing more than 160 people. In 2009 the World Bank found that 60 per cent of runways in North Africa were in excellent condition, but only 17 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa were. In addition, many sub-Saharan airports are small and have trouble dealing with huge arrivals. Most depend on a single airline and some have no connections to major carriers.<\/p>\n

A report by New York University, the World Bank and the ATA calls on industry operators to apply innovative approaches to managing the different types of African tourism, which it categorizes as \u201csafari,\u201d \u201cnature\u201d and \u201cculture.\u201d The report recommends \u201cgoing beyond traditional safari to include new adventures\u201d by tapping tour operators\u2019 creativity.<\/p>\n

Nature tourism, including gorilla tracking, presents opportunities. More than 700 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Mountains that span Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Faced with polit\u00adical instability, the DRC is trying to attract tourists by charging lower rates than Rwanda and Uganda. In 2011 the three countries raked in a total of $225 million from gorilla tourism. Through the website www.friendagorilla.org<\/span>, tourists pay to track gorillas using webcams. It is also possible to \u201cfriend\u201d a gorilla on the social network Facebook. Raising awareness of gorilla tourism through social media may attract more tourists from different parts of the world. More tourists mean more money spent on hotels, restaurants, tour guides and souvenirs.<\/p>\n

Culture tourism requires aggres\u00adsive promotion. Like food festivals in Mexico and music and cultural festi\u00advals in Jamaica and Trinidad, African festivals can draw visitors. Film festi\u00advals in Zanzibar and Burkina Faso attract culture tourists. Africa needs to \u201cdevelop flagship tourist attractions and communicate brand effectively,\u201d advises a McKinsey report.<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s domestic tourism (by resident visitors) has been flagging. Not more than half of Kenyan chief executives have seen an elephant, notes Victoria Safari, a Kenyan tourism company. \u201cAfricans should know Africa better than the white person from outside,\u201d it adds, recommending cheaper trans\u00adportation rates and ease of travel to encourage African tourists. Currently it costs about $1,500 to travel 1,800 miles from Luanda, Angola, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but only $1,100 to go from London to Dar es Salaam, a distance of 4,600 miles.<\/p>\n

Some countries are moving in the right direction. Frommer\u2019s, a US travel guide series, named Ethiopia one of the world\u2019s top 12 destinations in 2007. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa attracted more than 300,000 foreign visitors. Only recently, renowned international singer Youssou N\u2019Dour became Senegal\u2019s minister of culture and tourism, which may help boost tourism in his country.<\/p>\n

It may take some time before Africa catches up with Europe, which received 480 million tourists last year. But as international arrivals hit the milestone of 1 billion worldwide in 2012, Africa should aim for a bigger slice of the pie. The right infrastruc\u00adture, safety and security, and effective communication of the continent\u2019s attractions can be starting points.<\/p>\n

By Kingsley Ighobor <\/em>and Aissata Haidara, Africa Renewal in collaboration with SEM<\/em><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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