MARKET TRENDS

Tourism has become the world’s single largest industry, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); in 2006, world tourism receipts exceeded $700 billion. Africa’s tourism grew by nearly 10 percent in 2005, outpacing the world average of 5.5 percent, according to a report by the UNWTO. There is some disparity in the numbers that should be recognized for Africa as a whole. Much of the recent tourism growth has been in sub-Saharan Africa, which is the lower three quarters of the continent, south of the Sahara Desert. Based on UNWTO world tourism receipts numbers, sub-Saharan Africa received $14.5 billion—more than twice as much as the $7 billion received by North Africa.

Improving infrastructure, safety, air travel and appealing to a more diverse tourism audience are just a couple of things Africa will have to do in order to continue its growth. Source: www.unstats.un.org

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MARKET TRENDS

The WTTO currently ranks the African Continent as one of the fastest growing destinations for international tourists. According to the WTTC many African governments support the growth of both domestic and international tourism due to the sector’s immense potential for job creation, tax revenue generation, economic diversification, and foreign exchange earnings.

First and foremost, with the unprecedented passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), entrepreneurs have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of the positive trends of America’s commitment to assist African countries in order to continue to successfully graduate into the emerging global marketplace by generating economic opportunities through expanded trade and investment initiatives.

According to the WTTC, the fastest growing trend in tourism in the world is adventure travel, although this description can cover a wide variety of interests. The African Continent possess some of the greatest deserts, beaches, tropical rainforest, and mountain ranges in the world and beckons the adventure tourist to come visit, explore and enjoy.

REALITIES. To the vast majority of Americans, Africa’s problems over the past fifty years have manifested themselves in the form of ongoing military, political and economic turmoil that has had far reaching repercussions for Africa and its people. This unfortunate propaganda of a continent full of waste, fraud and abuse has adversely affected potential interest in travel and tourism-related trade and investment opportunities in Africa by American businesses. This factor, when coupled with the recent threat of global terrorism has significantly impeded much of the progress that has been achieved over the past decade. These perceptions, whether real or imaginary, have dealt a crippling blow to the travel and tourism industry of not just Africa but around the world. As a result, many airlines are currently facing serious financial difficulty due to the fear of air travel because of safety and security concerns. Likewise, the hotel and hospitality industry is being severely affected because people are not venturing far from home and are definitely putting off overseas travel for the foreseeable future. Source: www.africa-ata.org