tourism in Africa

Tourism is an important economic sector for many countries in Africa. The four countries that benefit the most from tourism are Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa. A second category includes the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

Tourism in Africa

The continent of Africa can be divided into three groups relative to tourism:

1. those countries with a developed tourism industry;
2. those with a developing industry;
3. those that would like to develop a tourism industry.

Countries like Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia have a successful tourism industry. Countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mauritius can be considered as countries that have steady and consistent income from tourism. Countries like Tanzania, Algeria and Burundi are countries that have little to no economic benefit from tourism, but would like to see it expand.

The successful countries in tourism are thriving due to a variety of factors. Countries like Morocco and Tunisia benefit from their beautiful beaches and their relative proximity to Europe. Tourism in Egypt is based on the rich history of Ancient Egypt, pyramids and artifacts. South Africa and Kenya benefit from wild safari expeditions, attracting tourists to see the wildlife of Africa.

Tourism by Arrivals

All of the data presented here is from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and from "Reviewing Africa in the Global Tourism Economy." The following table shows the number of arrivals in each country:

Country	Arrivals (2005)
Algeria	1,443,000
Angola	210,000
Botswana	1,559,000
Burundi	148,000
Cameroon	210,000
Cape Verde	198,000
Democratic Republic of the Congo	61,000
Djibouti	30,000
Egypt	8,244,000
Eritrea	83,000
Gambia	111,000
Guinea	45,000
Lesotho	304,000
Mali	143,000
Mauritius (2010)	934,827
Morocco	5,843,000
Réunion	409,000
São Tomé and Príncipe	11,000
Senegal	769,000
Seychelles	129,000
Sierra Leone	40,000
South Africa	7,518,000
Swaziland	839,000
Togo	81,000
Tunisia	6,378,000
Uganda	468,000
Zimbabwe	1,559,000