Tourism_in_Africa
Tourism is an important economic sector for many countries in Africa. There are many countries that benefit heavily from tourism like Uganda, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Tanzania.[1] The touristic particularity of Africa lies in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity and multitudes of landscapes as well as the rich cultural heritage. Also, an ecotourist industry is present in some African countries (e.g., South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique, etc.).[2]
Countries in Africa started investing in their tourism markets since the late 1960s and 1970s and are at different levels of tourism development. Countries in the continent of Africa are typically categorized using Butler's 1980 Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) model which is a common model that describes six specific stages of tourism development for all countries worldwide: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation and stagnation.[3]
However, a World Bank study in 2011 classified also African countries in to 4 categories based on performance. These performance groupings were based on indicators such business environment; tourism regulation, infrastructure, resources, tourism income, number of visitors and the potential growth of the market.
- “pre-emergent”: Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Comoros, Togo, Guinea, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Central African Rep., Congo D.R., Liberia, Congo Rep., Equatorial Guinea
- “potential”: Madagascar, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Mali, Benin, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Lesotho, Angola, Swaziland, Cameroon, and Gabon
- “emerging”: Seychelles, Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, The Gambia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Mozambique
- “consolidating”: Morocco, South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, Kenya, Cape Verde, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana.[4][5]
Ecotourism
Historical sites and monuments
More recent structures that attract tourism includes the old slave castles in Ghana, Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle, which are also sited for heritage tourism. It also includes the highest monument in the world, the African Renaissance Monument in Senegal.[12][13]
Marijuana tourism
Africa is home to a large marijuana industry[according to whom?] and is famed for Marijuana tourism destinations that were part of the African "hippie trail" which saw many young people in the 1970s and 1960s traveling there for marijuana use, largely in North Africa (Morocco) but some made it to southern parts of Africa to countries like Malawi. In more contemporary times, many countries in Africa are still destinations known for their marijuana.[14][15] South Africa is considered the gate way to Africa's marijuana tourism industry due to the popularity of "Durban Poison" Marijuana there is legal for private recreational use[16][17] Malawi is another country that is known for its marijuana industry and tourists there are known to shop for marijuana or "Malawi Gold". The quality of Malawian cannabis has led it to out-perform marijuana sales in other markets that its been introduced in.[18] Morocco is a country that is also world renowned for its marijuana and attracts tourists in search for its popular marijuana.[19]
Medical tourism
Due to advance in technologies, techniques and practices and lower costs, Africa has experienced a surge in medical tourism and health tourism. Countries that are destinations for medical and health tourism packages include Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia. The top destinations for European visitors include Egypt, Tunisia, and South Africa. South Africa is the top destination for both international tourists and regional tourists from other African countries.[20][21]
Tea tourism
African has a rich history of tea cultivation which is giving rise to several countries having a growing tea tourism destinations. Malawi was the first country to grow tea in Africa and has many tea estates that are decades old. Countries like Morocco, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa are large tea-producing countries which are frequented by tea tourists. South Africa's tea tourism market is focused on rooibos tea.[22][23]
Tourism by arrivals
All of the data presented here is from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and from "Reviewing Africa in the Global Tourism Economy."[24] The following table shows the number of arrivals in each country:
| Country[lower-alpha 1] | Arrivals (2015) |
|---|---|
 Egypt | 17,443,000 |
 Angola | 210,000 |
 Botswana | 1,559,000 |
 Burundi | 148,000 |
 Cameroon | 210,000 |
 Cape Verde | 198,000 |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo | 61,000 |
 Djibouti | 30,000 |
 Algeria | 4,244,000 |
 Eritrea | 83,000 |
 Gambia | 111,000 |
 Guinea | 45,000 |
 Lesotho | 304,000 |
 Mali | 143,000 |
 Mauritius | 934,827 (2020)[25] |
 Morocco | 9,409,000 |
 São Tomé and Príncipe | 11,000 |
 Senegal | 769,000 |
 Seychelles | 129,000 |
 Sierra Leone | 40,000 |
 South Africa | 7,518,000 |
 Eswatini | 839,000 |
 Togo | 81,000 |
 Tunisia | 6,378,000 |
 Uganda | 1,468,000 (2017) |
 Zimbabwe | 1,559,000 |
Tourism by receipts
The following map and data depict the income from tourism in US dollar equivalent:
| Country[lower-alpha 2] | Receipts (2020) in US$ |
|---|---|
| Botswana | $562,000,000 |
| Burundi | $2,000,000 |
| Cape Verde | $123,000,000 |
| Egypt | $16,851,000,000 |
| Eritrea | $66,000,000 |
 Kenya | $879,000,000 |
| Lesotho | $30,000,000 |
 Malawi | $26,000,000 |
| Morocco | $4,617,000,000 |
 Mozambique | $130,000,000 |
 Namibia | $348,000,000 |
 Reunion | $384,000,000 |
| Seychelles | $192,000,000 |
| Sierra Leone | $83,000,000 |
| South Africa | $7,327,000,000 |
 Sudan | $89,000,000 |
| Uganda | $1,400,000,000 |
| Tunisia | $2,063,000,000 |
 Tanzania | $4,468,000,000 |
| Zimbabwe | $1,559,000 |
Notes
- No data is available for Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
- No data is available for Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo, Swaziland and Zambia.
Visa policies to visit
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
See also
References
- WhiteOrange. "Homepage". Ghana Tourism Authourity. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- Signé, Landry (2019-03-05). "Africa's tourism: A global destination for investment and entrepreneurship". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- World Bank, 2011, The Africa Region Tourism Strategy: Transformation through Tourism, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/883cf00a-5c7d-5d41-b91a-ddaa24e050ea/content
- "These mighty pyramids were built by one of Africa's earliest civilizations". National Geographic Society. 28 December 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022.
- "Obelisk returned to Ethiopia after 68 years". The Guardian. 20 April 2005.
- Underwood, Joseph L. (2022-09-26). "Authorship & Authority: The Contested Origins of Dakar's African Renaissance Monument". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- "Ghana cashes in on slave heritage tourism". Reuters. 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- "When the Peace Corps Was Young". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- Week, Africa Travel (2022-12-02). "High time for cannabis tourism to take off in Africa". Africa Travel Week. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- "Demand on the rise for cannabis tourism". Southern & East African Tourism Update. 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- Sapiens (2017-04-12). "Inside a Moroccan Marijuana Farm". SAPIENS. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- Mogaka JJ, Tsoka-Gwegweni JM, Mupara LM, Mashamba-Thompson T. Role, structure and effects of medical tourism in Africa: a systematic scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 2017 Jun 23;7(6):e013021. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013021. PMID 28645947; PMCID: PMC5541447.
- Phori, Madiseng & Mathole, Lebo & Henama, Unathi & Mokoena, Lehlohonolo. (2022). Tea tourism in the global south: An African perspective.
- Rogerson, Christian (2017). "Reviewing Africa in the global tourism economy", Vol. 24 No. 3 United Nations World Tourism Organization. September 2017.
- "Tourist arrival 2020 (mauritius)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 January 2012.
External links
Media related to Tourism in Africa at Wikimedia Commons