· The predominant view was that COVID 19 highlighted the significance of promoting domestic tourism.
Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022, owned by South African Tourism, and one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African calendar was held from May 2-5 th in Durban. The event showcased the best of African tourism products and attracted a cross section of international buyers and media from across the world.
Tourism is a critical contributor to the GDP of many African countries. The sector was hit hard during COVID 19, leading to loss of foreign exchange, employment and livelihood of many. During the various sessions held during the event, African Tourism Ministers and experts put forward several recommendations to revive the tourism sector ravaged by Covid-19.
Read Also; https://trendsnafrica.com/egypts-tourism-sector-is-resilient-egyptian-minister-of-tourism/
https://trendsnafrica.com/ethiopia-showcases-its-tourism-potentials-in-israel/
The predominant view was that COVID 19 highlighted the significance of promoting domestic tourism. The speakers including Tourism Ministers and CEOs of various Tourism Development Agencies urged for facilitating Intra-African travel and the need to improve connectivity, fast-tracking the e-Visa regime on the continent, and visa-free travel in the future. To improve Intra-Africa travel, and reduce the high cost, it was suggested treating the African travellers as locals across the continent, and not as international tourists. Some of the speakers called for more cooperation among the countries as they felt that Intra-regional travel was the future of tourism particularly after Covid-19. One of the major obstacles for regional tourism was lack of connectivity within Africa, many speakers observed.
Read Also; https://trendsnafrica.com/russia-ukraine-conflict-a-blow-to-seychelles-tourism/
