Tourism is a vital economic tool that can be used to boost Africa's GDP on yearly basis. It contributes almost 9.0% of its GDP annually.
This is tantamount to almost $200 billion reckoning with the 2019 tourism revenue survey I made.
This record positions Africa as the second largest growing tourism hub in the world at a grow rate of 5.7%, next to Asia Pacific as the first hub.
However, these figures will definitely go down as a result of Covid-19 pandemic which has halted travel and tourism for some months.
Tourism industry remained highly untapped in Africa, with a huge potential and blessed with numerous natural physical features spread across the nooks and crannies of the continent.
Africa received up to 75 million international tourists in 2019 vis-à-vis the 67 million tourists in 2018. This increase is attributed to the affordability and ease of travel within the continent.
This in turn translates to huge amount of revenue for governments as well as organisations in the industry.
To accomplish the realisation of the full potential gains in the industry will require the cooperations of governments in easing visa requirements for foreign tourists coming into their countries, access to forex and tourism centres information.
In addition, safety of tourists must be well guaranteed, infrastructures must be well developed and the tourism centres must be made attractive.
With all these solutions on ground, tourism will definitely boost the GDP of Africa beyond expectations.
There was a speech about how to do tourism right. Because in most cases tourism of many people, for example young backpackers, which people ultimately think of, are not that much of a help at all. They are also a destructive force for nature. But before you think this is some anticapitalistic nonsense: The real money is made, when you open up your tourism for rich people. In short, instead of 1000 of backpackers with little to no profit for your region, it is far better to invite 1 rich person, who is willing to spend huge amounts for the luxury of being taken to a tourist program tailored to him.
When going for tourism, this is by far a better solution, then trying to advertise backpackers. Then again, maybe the point is, that those rich people do not pay the petty businesses as much. Maybe a good mix of both is the solution. But on a greater scale, GDP rises significantly more with the rich-tourist method. Not to speak of nature being preserved.