Opinions on Suomiarvostelut show that Africa blooms for many things. One of those things include the stunning tourist sites in the region.
In 2018, about 67 million tourists visited Africa. This was a significant rise in the data recorded from the previous years. This brought Africa into the second rank of fastest growing tourism industries after the Asia Pacific.
Also, the reviews of customers of Momondo also show that Africa countries reap the benefits of the policies that were enacted after this surge. The policies were created to enable more investment in the sector. This has increased the attraction tourists have for Africa.
Since then, travel and tourism have remained key in driving Africa’s economy in the world. In 2018, traveling and tourism had a GDP contribution of 8.5{eb956ffcf99fb77f40fed870b1d6b21c8dd3a849671c46366cd5158cbdce28d6} in the economy. This is an equivalent of $194.2 billion. This has made Africa rank as the second continent as a vast and fast-growing tourist region in the world. This growth is of a 5.6{eb956ffcf99fb77f40fed870b1d6b21c8dd3a849671c46366cd5158cbdce28d6} rate right after the Asia Pacific’s which was at 3.9{eb956ffcf99fb77f40fed870b1d6b21c8dd3a849671c46366cd5158cbdce28d6} worldwide average growth rate.
The need to show the opportunity and beauty in Africa led Jumia to sponsor a research. They believed that the continent is yet untapped and there are enormous opportunities that can facilitate tremendous growth in the region. The Head of Travel, Estelle Verdier, also believes that attention can be drawn to tourism in Africa.
In 2018, the continent got 67 million international tourists. The increase, higher than the 58 million in 2016 and 2017’s 63 million, was due to the ease of travel beyond the continent. There were also fewer costs for domestic travels in comparison to international expenditure. However, leisure travel remains a critical part of Africa’s tourism industry. It took up over 71{eb956ffcf99fb77f40fed870b1d6b21c8dd3a849671c46366cd5158cbdce28d6} of the tourist expenditure in 2018.
According to Jumia’s Head of Travel, the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA)’s implementation enhanced domestic travels in the continent. It further helped African nationals to travel to other countries without visa requirements. She recognizes this as an effective means that created campaigns that promoted local travels in the continent. This also helped the diversification of Jumia’s product at affordable prices.
Ever since then, tourism in the continent has increased. Many secured travels through the use of Jumia travel booking platforms and there was an incredible rise in the percentage of those who traveled. Additionally, the popularity of some places increased tremendously and it attracted an international audience.
People used paper cash and mobile money transfers as payment methods for their tours. However, the penetration of mobile platforms contributed to the continent’s economy by $144 billion, as compared to 2017’s $110 billion.
With the increase in airline traffic of Africans, improved visa facilitation improved the aviation and tourism industries. Countries like Ethiopia also had relaxed policies which integrated and facilitated connectivity in the region.
Finally, African leaders saw the need to make traveling and tourism affordable. People could apply for visas online and this also increased the surge of tourists in the continent.