(4 minutes read)
· Global restrictions on travel had hit badly African nations which are depended on tourist arrivals
· For a number of nations in Africa , the main hard currency resource is tourism, They also depend on the sector for employment
· The contribution of travel and tourism to Africa’s total flow of foreign exchange is substantial at US$168 billion in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council
Global restrictions on travel had hit badly African nations which depended on tourist arrivals. For a number of nations in Africa , the main hard currency resource is tourism, They also depend on the sector for employment.
Some of the countries that need special mention are Mauritius, Kenya and Namibia. They ran into more financial trouble as international flights were grounded and tourist flow had come to a grinding halt. The impact of the pandemic in South Africa also is felt hard. South Africa’s hotel group- Sun International- announced closure of two of its casinos and would reopen only after the covid-19. Kenya is also bearing the brunt. Its tourist traffic is expected to fall by about 1.6 million. This would cause a loss of US$511 million in hotel-room revenue alone. .
The contribution of travel and tourism to Africa’s total flow of foreign exchange is substantial at US$168 billion in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Countries like Mauritius and Seychelles heavily rely on tourism for revenue. Close to 1.4 million people visited Mauritius last year. But after lockdown due to Covid-19, the tourist flow was almost zero. In South Africa, the income from hotel accommodation sales fell by 99% during the first full month of the lockdown, and has yet to recover.
