Travel and tourism remained one of the key growth drivers of Africa’s economy, contributing 8.5% of the GDP in 2018; equivalent to $194.2 billion. According to the 2019 Jumia Hospitality Report, this growth record placed the continent as the second-fastest growing tourism region in the world, with a growth rate of 5.6% after Asia Pacific and against a 3.9% global average growth rate.
Africa received 67 million international tourist arrivals in 2018, to record a +7% increase from 63 million arrivals in 2017 and 58 million in 2016. This gradual increase is attributed to the affordability and ease of travel especially within the continent, with spending among domestic travellers accounting for 56% as compared to 44% international expenditure. Additionally, leisure travel remains an important component of Africa’s tourism industry, taking up a majority 71% of the tourist expenditure in 2018.
Most African government leaders are now committed to making travel between African countries easier and more affordable
Aviation Industry
While Africa’s passenger traffic increased from 88.5 million in 2017 to 92 million in 2018 (+5.5%), it’s world share was only 2.1% (down from 2.2% in 2017). This trend is due to high competition from other regions such as the Asia Pacific. Africa’s share is however predicted to grow by 4.9% annually over the next 20 years.
Improved visa facilitation in major tourism countries in Africa remains a major boost to both the tourism and aviation industries. For instance, Ethiopia’s visa relaxation policies combined with improved connectivity as a regional transport hub placed the country as Africa’s fastest growing travel country, growing by 48.6% in 2018 to be worth $7.4 billion.
“Most African government leaders are now committed to making travel between African countries easier and more affordable. An example is the creation of the East Africa Visa programme that allows travellers to apply for a visa online before visiting Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. Such collaborations are visionary. It is when we work together, pool our resources, partner and share our best knowledge that we can do much more,” stated South African Tourism’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Sthembiso Dlamini.
In terms of top airlines generating most revenue in the African airspace, the report sites Emirates at the top of the list; earning over $837 million with popular flights from Johannesburg, Cairo, Cape Town and Mauritius. Africa’s most profitable air route between April 2018 and March 2019 was from Johannesburg in South Africa to Dubai, generating $315.6 million in revenue; while state-owned Angola Airlines and South African Airways were the only two African airlines that made it to the top 10 Africa’s highest revenue air routes within the same period. Respectively, the two airlines generated $231.6 million flying from Luanda to Lisbon and $185 million flying between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
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