By Abdi Ali
Published January 21, 2018
Africa welcomed 62 million international tourists in 2017.
World Tourism Barometer of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) in sub-Saharan Africa grew by 5% while North Africa experienced a 13% increase.UNWTO projections for Africa in 2017 had been 8%.
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Though the 62 million figure is way below Europe with 671 million (+8%), Asia-Pacific’s 324 million (+6%) and the Americas’ 207 million (+3%), Africa’s growth rate supersedes the 7% rate recorded globally with 1.322 billion tourist arrivals in the year under consideration.
The number of tourist arrivals in Africa was higher than the 58 million (+5%) that the Middle East recorded in 2007.
On the whole, UNWTO World Tourism Barometer that recognises tourism as a key driver in economic development, shows that there was sustained growth in tourist arrivals figures in every region of the world.UNWTO says it expects the trend to continue in 2018, with a projected rate of 4%-5% in international arrivals.
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UNWTO says the 7% increase in international tourist arrivals worldwide is ‘well above’ the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher growth since 2010 and represents the strongest results in seven years.
UNWTO’s projected growth rate for international tourist arrivals worldwide, pegged at 4%-5% in 2018, is slightly above the 3.8% average increase projected for the period 2010-2020 by UNWTO in its Tourism Towards 2030 long-term forecast.
“International travel continues to grow strongly, consolidating the tourism sector as a key driver in economic development. As the third export sector in the world, tourism is essential for job-creation and the prosperity of communities around the world,” says UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “Yet as we continue to grow we must work closer together to ensure this growth benefits every member of every host community, and is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
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