Gifty Danso
In Africa, South Africa takes the number one spot as the preferred destination by tourists, followed by Mauritius, Botswana, and Kenya.
Ghana is ninth among the top 10 tourist destinations in
Africa, but ranked the highest in West Africa, according to a recent report by
the World Economic Forum.
The Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024
released just last month, measures the factors enabling sustainable growth in
the travel and tourism (T&T) sector - ranking 199 countries based on
factors such as enabling environment, infrastructure and services, T&T
resources, and sustainability.
In Africa, South Africa takes the number one spot as the
preferred destination by tourists, followed by Mauritius, Botswana, and Kenya.
Country Score TTDI Rank
South Africa 3.99 55
Mauritius 3.98 57
Botswana 3.71 75
Kenya 3.68 77
Tanzania 3.65 81
Rwanda 3.45 93
Namibia 3.45 95
Zambia 3.45 104
Ghana 3.28 106
Senegal 3.24 107
According to the report, Sub-Saharan Africa has seen
significant improvement, with the T&T sector boosting job creation and
economic development.
"Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa) has shown the most
substantial enhancement in TTDI performance since 2019 (+2.1%), with 16 out of
the 19 regional economies covered by the index increasing their TTDI
scores," it said.
In 2024, the region had the highest score for T&T
Socioeconomic Impact, with the T&T industry in Africa generating, on
average, over 21% more jobs with an average of over 43% of the sector workforce
employed in segments that are considered relatively high wage.
Given the region’s price competitiveness and natural
resources for tourism, there’s potential to develop the sector. However,
challenges remain.
The report highlights that despite some investments by
governments into the sector and unilateral and multilateral strides in policies
such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Free Movement of
Persons Protocol, and the Single African Air Transport Market, implementation
is usually a hurdle – making examples of visa requirements, and aviation
growth.
“With the region scoring low for the number and degree of
liberalization of air service agreements, this can, in particular, make it more
difficult for Africa’s already underdeveloped aviation sector to grow.
Innovative funding solutions for air, ground, and port infrastructure also need
to be found to make destinations easier to access.”
Globally, the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector is
expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, driven by the end of
restrictions and strong demand. However, challenges such as uneven regional
recovery, labor shortages, and supply-demand imbalances persist. External
factors like global inflation, conflicts, and environmental issues add further
pressure.
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