Tourism in Africa


is an important economic sector for many countries in Africa. There are many countries that benefit the most from tourism like Uganda, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Tanzania. The touristic particularity of Africa lies in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity and multitudes of landscapes as well as the rich cultural heritage.

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 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, artifacts and breathtaking Red Sea beaches. 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 and from "Reviewing Africa in the Global Tourism Economy."
The following table shows the number of arrivals in each country:

Tourism by Receipts

The following map and data depict the income from tourism in US dollar equivalent:
CountryReceipts in US$
Botswana562,000,000
Burundi2,000,000
Cape Verde123,000,000
Egypt6,851,000,000
Eritrea66,000,000
Kenya879,000,000
Lesotho30,000,000
Malawi26,000,000
Morocco4,617,000,000
Mozambique130,000,000
Namibia348,000,000
Reunion384,000,000
Seychelles192,000,000
Sierra Leone83,000,000
South Africa7,327,000,000
Sudan89,000,000
Uganda1,400,000,000
Tunisia2,063,000,000
Tanzania785,468,000
Zimbabwe1,559,000