ForwardKeys analysis shows African destinations entering a growth phase in the last quarter of 2023, with Cameroon (+27% international arrivals compared with 2019), Rwanda (+15%), Tanzania (+15%) and Namibia (+10%) leading the way and boasting double-digit growth.

“Most destinations are expected to switch to growth mode during the last quarter of the year, although there is still an uneven recovery amongst countries. Strong demand from the VFR segment is driving the fastest-recovering regions in Central and West Africa. This trend is expected to continue and accelerate as we head towards the Christmas peak season,” says Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at ForwardKeys.

WTTC President and CEO, Julia Simpson said: “This latest data from ForwardKeys shows an undeniable appetite for travel to destinations across Africa. These search trends reveal potential new source markets for several African destinations and now is the time to seize the opportunities for growth.”

Rwanda is in a good position for Business and Luxury Travel

When discussing business travel to African destinations, it’s important to note that the industry is still in recovery mode. However, there are some destinations that are performing better than others. Senegal is expected to experience a 22% increase in business travel in Q4, Rwanda 21%, and Cameroon 25%.

Rwanda’s recovery of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector is benefiting the country significantly. This is evident as Rwanda was the third fastest-growing business destination in Africa in Q4. The revival of business travel is a positive sign of increased economic activity and investment in Rwanda. Germany, the United Kingdom, and the USA are the most dynamic source markets for business travel to Rwanda, with growth rates of 30%, 13%, and 11% respectively.

ForwardKeys air ticketing data also shows that the recovery of travel to Rwanda is being driven by passengers travelling in premium cabin classes (+37% in Q4 compared with +13% for economy class). This indicates that there is growing interest from high-end premium travellers who are likely to spend more on high-end luxury goods and services during their stay at a destination.

Rwanda serves as an excellent example of how improved connectivity could benefit the destination by enhancing the ease of travel. Currently, 70% of international arrivals involve transfer hubs to arrive in Rwanda, mainly Addis Ababa Bole Airport, Brussels Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport. Further analysis reveals that there is a great business opportunity to increase the number of direct flights, for example from the United States and Germany, as evidenced by the number of flight searches per source market.

Source: Airspace-Africa

The high cost of air travel in Africa has been described as a barrier to tourism.

Travellers within the continent not only pay higher ticket prices but also more tax to board a commercial aircraft.

This emerged at the just-ended World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) global summit in Kigali, Rwanda.

Speakers at the high-profile event—heads of state, business executives, and travel experts—said intra-Africa air travel remains prohibitive.

“It is often cheaper to fly to another continent than to another African country,” they said as the meeting drew to a close.

They cited an air ticket between Berlin in Germany and Istanbul costing a mere $150 for a direct flight taking less than three hours.

Flying a similar distance between Kinshasa and Lagos in Nigeria would cost between $500 and $850, with the trip taking up to 20 hours.

On the other hand, the cost of a flight from Entebbe in Uganda to the Kenyan port of Mombasa (916km) will cost up to $200.

This is roughly eight times the cost of flying the same distance in Europe.

There are also reports that a flight from Kampala to Arusha costs a staggering $480.

Yet one can fly from Washington to Dallas (both in the vast US) using only $180, with a longer distance compared to Entebbe-Arusha.

“This makes doing business within Africa incredibly difficult and expensive,” said Kamil al Awadhi, the regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East of the International Air Traffic Association (IATA).

An assistant professor of commercial law at the UK’s Durham University, Adefolake Adeyeye, agrees that Africa as a whole is missing out because of its poor air service.

However, according to her, the poor quality of road networks and lack of railways in many African countries often make air transport the practical choice for cargo too.

Although around 18 percent of the world’s population lives in Africa, it accounts for less than 2 percent of global air.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, the summit host, said the high cost of air travel to Africa and within Africa remains a barrier to the growth of the tourism sector.

He said the situation was due to, among others, the failure to implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

SAATM has been approved by the African Union (AU) with a view to opening up Africa’s skies and promoting the value of aviation throughout the continent.

It is also envisaged to boost traffic, drive economies, and create jobs, but it has been signed by only 34 of the 55 AU member states.

But once fully operationalized, SAATM can also open avenues for even better cooperation between different countries where the continent can work out modalities to market Africa as a single tourist destination.

The Rwandan leader made a rallying call on African states to liberalise their airspace “as a way to unlock the potential that the continent possesses in the tourism sector”.

In order for Africa to fully harness emerging sectors like travel and tourism, travel industry experts insist on the need to implement SAATM.

For a continent that is acutely short on other critical infrastructure like roads and maritime transport, air travel is the only option left to ease intra-Africa movement.

However, liberalisation of airspace on the continent has to go along with the removal of the still prevalent visa restrictions in Africa.

The bottom line, nevertheless, remains that many sovereign African countries are hesitant to implement open-sky policies.

Many countries, short of cash to run their respective aviation facilities, heap all sorts of taxes on passengers.

Source: The East African

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Rwanda announced Thursday that it will allow Africans to travel visa-free to the country, becoming the latest nation on the continent to announce such a measure aimed at boosting free movement of people and trade to rival Europe’s Schengen zone.

President Paul Kagame made the announcement in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he pitched the potential of Africa as “a unified tourism destination” for a continent that still relies on 60% of its tourists from outside Africa, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

“Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country” said Kagame during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

“We should not lose sight of our own continental market,” he said. “Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come.”

Once implemented, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to remove travel restrictions for Africans. Other countries that have waived visas to African nationals are Gambia, Benin and Seychelles.

Kenya’s President William Ruto announced Monday plans to allow all Africans to travel to the East African nation visa-free by December 31.

“Visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us. When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel we all become net losers” said Ruto at an international summit in Congo Brazzaville.

The African Union in 2016 launched an African passport with much fanfare, saying it would rival the European Union model in “unleashing the potential of the continent.” However, only diplomats and AU officials have been issued the travel document so far.

The African Passport and free movement of people is “aimed at removing restrictions on African’s ability to travel, work and live within their own continent,” The AU says on its website.

AU also launched the African Continental Free Trade Area, a continent-wide free trade area estimated to be worth $3.4 trillion, which aims to create a single unified market for the continent’s 1.3 billion people and to boost economic development.

Source: AP News

Africa’s long-term travel prospects hinge on its domestic demand, a trend accelerated by the pandemic and an opportunity for the continent’s tourism-rich countries.

“Africa for Africa is vital,” said Anita Mendiratta, special advisor to the UNWTO Secretary General, who spoke to Skift at the Airbnb Africa Summit in Johannesburg.

“Domestic tourism was always the poor cousin of tourism. If you couldn’t afford to travel overseas, you stayed at home. Now, the value of domestic tourism has remained,” Mendiratta said.

For example, domestic tourism in South Africa climbed by 31% in overnight trips during the first four months of 2023 from a year earlier. Domestic travel spending during this period rose by 41%, according to South Africa’s Tourism Department data.

An Airbnb Economic Impact study detailing bookings for 2022 showed domestic stays in the country had increased by 34%, with seven of the 10 fastest-growing places visited outside of South Africa’s main tourist areas in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

While the World Travel & Tourism Council forecast the tourism sector could contribute 7% to the continent’s GDP in the next decade, challenges remain. This is despite the recently introduced African Continental Free Trade Area, the world’s largest by participant count, anticipated to ease trade and services across the continent.

High travel costs and poor transportation networks within and between countries make planning a trip harder than in other, more developed destinations. Mendiratta called the continent’s visa issues between countries a costly barrier.

WTTC pre-pandemic data also showed that domestic tourism accounted for 55% of spending in Africa, compared to 83% in North America and 64% in Europe, pre-pandemic. 

Africa’s Middle Class Could Drive Growth

Yet, analysts suggest Africa’s expanding middle class could have domestic and regional tourism potential. The World Bank estimated a pre-pandemic middle class of 170 million people spread across the continent and its diverse economies, including Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, and Nigeria.

The African Development Bank sees one-third of the continent’s population as middle class based on a $2-20 daily spending, unlike data firm Fraym, which identified a “consumer class” of 330 million by analyzing ownership and education.

The continent has the youngest population in the world, with more than 60% of Africans under 25, which further presents a potential travel segment worth nurturing. 

Gaps in Compelling Local Experiences

Developing unique travel products for African destinations that highlight the continent’s diverse offerings is essential, according to Jerry Mabena, CEO of Motsamayi Tourism. 

While African destinations may share common attractions like the Big Five, each has unique cultural and historical aspects inherently tied to the local people and their heritage, said Mabena.

“In South Africa, there’s a sense that people come to the hotel, then they decide what to do, and actually it’s the other way around,” said Mabena. “Modern travelers are looking for immersion. And if you’re going to get immersed in a particular experience, whatever that experience is, it needs to be curated in a manner that draws you in. If it’s archeology, then it needs to be curated in a manner that’s non-academic.”

Mabena, for example, felt the Ndebele artwork of internationally acclaimed South African artist Ester Mahlangu needed to be showcased in a manner that rooted her talent in her hometown.

“Ester has a center in Nkangala, which should become a tourism destination,” said Mabena. “Ethiopia has some really beautiful religious sites, but I don’t think they are elevated that much. Even as an African, I know them because I’m in the sector. But if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t know about the ruins in Zimbabwe. So there’s a need for us to start finding an African story that needs to be then curated.”

Purpose-Driven Travel

There has been a forced reevaluation of what travel experiences mean on the continent, according to Mendiratta. She added that it is rooted in purpose-driven travel, further triggered by the pandemic, as travelers seek meaningful experiences rather than self-centered journeys.

“There is nowhere in the world that, at a cultural, social, and spiritual level, delivers [more] purpose-based travel than Africa. People come here to be unlocked,” said Mendiratta. “So, they go home a different person. And that’s where Africa has always been the fastest track to people’s conscience and their hearts. That, to me, is the future of travel in Africa.”

Source: Skift