Travel and tourism continues to be a key growth driver of Africa’s economy, contributing $194.2 billion which is about 8.5% of the GDP in 2018. The latest 2019 Jumia Hospitality Report Africa, places the continent as the second-fastest growing tourism destination in the world. The average global growth rate stood at 3.9% while the growth rate of Asia Pacific was at 5.6%. The annual report was released in Addis Ababa, ahead of the 2019 World Tourism Day, celebrated on Sept. 27.
Speaking at the official release of the annual report in Addis Ababa, Jumia’s Head of Travel (Travel.Jumia.com), Estelle Verdier said that through this report, they wanted to highlight the vast potential of the tourism industry, to push economic growth
Africa has witnessed a gradual growth in international tourist arrivals. In 2018, the continent received 67 million international tourist arrivals recording more than 7% increase from 63 million arrivals in 2017 and 58 million in 2016. This steady increase is attributed to the affordability and ease of travel. African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) is expected to further boost domestic travel. To facilitate internal travel, the report recommended elimination of visa requirements for African nationals and focussed campaigns to promote local travel destinations and tourism offerings to attract more regional travellers, etc. For example Ethiopia’s visa relaxation policies combined with improved connectivity as a regional transport hub transformed it as Africa’s fastest growing travel country.The report lamented that in spite of the rise in tourist traffic, Africa’s share was only 2.1% in the global tourism. However, Africa’s share is expected to grow by 4.9% annually over the next 20 years.
