Africa attracted 63 million of the 1.3 billion international tourists recorded in 2017, according to a study commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The study said the continent’s total was 9 percent higher than the previous year, but still far below its potential share of global arrivals.
Dr Salifou Siddo, chief executive of SME TradeLinks, presented the findings in Kigali, Rwanda, at a conference on eastern Africa’s tourism sector. He took part in the UN-sponsored study and told delegates that tourism should be treated as a driver of wider investment.
“Investment follows tourism. Africa should utilise the readily available $45 billion financing the World Bank has allocated it until 2020 focusing on agriculture, housing and tourism,” said Dr Siddo, at the 22nd meeting of Inter-Governmental Experts Committee.
UNECA said eastern Africa countries attracted $3.11 billion in investment, equal to 11 percent of Africa’s total $26.22 billion in 2017.
The report also said tourism-sector investment in eastern Africa reached $3.22 billion in 2017, with Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia accounting for 66.4 per cent of that total.
Dr Siddo urged eastern African states to market themselves as a single tourist destination if they want a larger share of international arrivals.
The study identified weak promotion, poor transparency and accountability, and a failure to introduce new products as some of Africa’s main shortcomings.
It also called for stronger support for small and medium enterprises, including government guarantees and help in securing commercial bank loans.
UNECA said travel and tourism accounted for 10.4 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product in 2017. It added that tourism provides 60 per cent of total employment and 40 per cent of GDP in emerging economies.
