Tourism is one of the main drivers of job creation as well as economic growth in emerging economies across the world.
The unique history of Africa and its natural wonders have gained continuous attention amid the global and local increase in heritage, cultural and development tourism.
An analysis of the business environment and the governance of various countries indicate that the African countries have tremendous potential to remain or become vibrant hosts for entrepreneurs, investors and tourists, which can spar economic inclusion for youth and women and drive employment opportunities for low-skilled workers.
International tourists that travel to the emerging countries usually inject significant amounts of wealth into the host countries. The national economies also attain development assistance from the foreign governments.
In 2021, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to African continent was 83 billion dollars a record achievement based on the 2022 UNCTAD’s World Investment reports.
The official development assistance amounted to 60 billion dollars while tourism generated 45 billion dollars and created more than 10 million direct jobs in the tourism sector.
Imminently, the tourism industry has increasingly essential role in the global economy though its contribution to the service exports, GDP and employment.
The investments in tourism are projected to attain an average growth rate of about 4.5 percent in the next decade and over 5 percent of the total investments. The share of the total investments of tourism industry in Africa is seven percent.
In the next ten years, the total investments in the tourism sector will grow at an average rate of 4.1 percent.
However, despite the progress made in the tourism sector in Africa, a lot needs to be done in order to attract more investments based on the potential of the African continent.
More than twenty years ago, the African Union Development Agency adopted an essential Tourism Action Plan to ensure visibility to tourism on the African continent. That emerged after a three-hundred percent international arrivals increment in 1990.
By the 2000, there were 27 million arrivals. Since then, tourism has become an integral part of economic development policies.
Many countries increased their efforts recently to enhance their tourism travel and tourism industries, including South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Gambia, to accommodate the annual visitors, estimated as 60 million. Kenya and South Africa have remained the top destination points for tourists, thus getting tourism-focused investments at 450 million dollars and 8 million dollars respectively.
Why Africa has a Lot of Potential for Tourism
The tourism industry plays a central role in the global economy. It contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), service exports and job creation. In each year, about one billion people travel internationally.
It is expected that by 2030, recreation, hospitality and consumer spending on tourism in Africa will reach about 270 billion dollars. Based on these trends, the travel and tourism industry has essential potential in Africa. The major reasons are that the continent is rich in cultural heritage and has vast natural resources.
Most countries in Africa are aware of the potential for tourism and have continuously crafted strategic plans to ensure development in the sector as a development and economic opportunity catalyst. For instance, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Gambia have put significant efforts to advance travel and tourism development.
On the other hand, countries such as South Africa, Rwanda, Mauritius and Botswana are working hard to enhance their business environment to foster conducive environment for tourism.
The sub-regional communities and African Union have also put tourism at the top of their agendas. Notably, the African Union endorsement of the Tourism Action Plan has been a great milestone.
The Tourism Action Plan recognizes tourism development among the priority sector strategies and aims to ascertain that Africa is the desired tourism destination in the 21st century.
The fifteen members of the ECOWAS have also introduced an important visa policy that allows free movements of individuals across member states, providing larger market to international travelers.
Even though improvements have been achieved in different areas, a lot should be done in the realm of public and private sectors to fully tap the potential of Africa in the tourism industry.
Tourism in East Africa
East Africa is widely known for its exotic nature, beautifully extending from rivers to lakes, as well as across the East African Rift Valley. East Africa is also rich in natural resources, cultural heritage and wild animals that act as the major drivers for tourists’ attraction.
Indeed, tourism is a major forex earner in East Africa, leading to a vital contribution to their economy. Tourism also plays a central role in creating employment opportunities in East Africa. About 7 percent of the employment in the region comes from tourism. All these lead to accumulation of billions in tourism revenue that are channeled back to the respective economies.
Unquestionably, the East Africa tourism industry has taken a hit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic within the region. The data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization had indicated that tourism levels reduced by 87 percent, indicating how the virus affected one of the most important veins of the region’s economy.
With the challenges, the tourism industry has effectively comprehended the potential of tourism to ensure maximum growth and the East Africa region is moving in the right direction to enhance efforts to bolster the industry.
The EAC pride itself in its full engagement to foster tourism in the region. It pins the tourism sector as a significant operation for the economy, arguing that the sector contributes to about 17 percent to the export earnings and also massively contributes to the GDP, standing at 10 percent.
The East Africa region has the prowess to remain the most vibrant hotspot for tourism in Africa, mainly due to the spirit by EAC to remain united, fronted by the member states. It is therefore up to the individual economies to levitate their tourism potential collectively.
Tourism in Kenya
Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in Kenya. The Kenya Tourism Board usually takes charge in maintaining information concerning tourism in Kenya. Blessed with a friendly local population, breathtaking landscape, rich collection of wildlife and ideal year round weather, it is little surprise that the Kenya Tourism provides one of the best desired travel experiences in the world.
Sports tourism, cultural tourism, eco-tourism and beach tourism are all components of the tourism sector in Kenya. Kenya has had its share of challenges concerning tourism. For example, in 2007 after the controversial 2007 elections as well as the 2007-2008 post-election crises that followed, the tourism revenue declined significantly, plummeting to 54 percent in the first quarter of 2007.
The revenue dropped from KSH. 17.5 billion to KSH. 8.08 billion. The income for tourism from China dropped to 10.7 percent and over 50 percent from the United States and Europe.
There have also been cases of insecurities in the region, especially along the Kenyan boarders, affecting both international and domestic travels. However, Kenya has grown politically, and since the 2007 political scenario, there has been tranquility after elections. Security has also been tightened, enabling Kenya to be the tourist destination of choice. Since 2008, the number of tourists has increased significantly. The increase has resulted to positive effect in the economy.
The tourism sector has contributed to growth in GDP by 4.4 percent according to data from the Ministry of Tourism. The sector has also resulted to 10 percent of economic output and employs more than 2 million people.
Kenya has a great potential to benefit from tourism. The future of tourism in Kenya will heavily rely on conservation and marketing of wildlife because the major attraction of tourism in Kenya is wildlife plus of course food , music ,fashion, sports ,conferences, investor tourism.
To achieve growth, the Kenyan government must establish great efforts and protect the game reserves and national parks and build strong emotional Brand Kenya partnerships with all travel business and nations globally.
Chris Diaz
Business Leader and Brand Africa Trustee
Twitter @DiazChrisAfrica
