Closed borders, poachers and corona misbeliefs - African tourism under immense threat

ByOlga Sajin

Closed borders, poachers and corona misbeliefs - African tourism under immense threat

Projections regarding the growth in African tourism that had been forecast for 2020 have been shattered. Based on pre-COVID trends, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) experts believed that tourism would perform better on the continent, enjoying an increase of international arrivals and therefore of tourists. The ongoing restrictions have turned Africa from the second-fastest growing tourism region in the world into the one facing serious consequences – economic decline, a high rate of unemployment and other lamentable outcomes.

The number of tourists in Africa has consistently grown by almost 5% annually over the last few years, a trend that was expected to result in 75 million visitors representing billions of dollars in revenue in 2020. As a result of demand for air travel and easier visa application processes, international arrivals on the continent were expected to rise from 3% to 5% the current year. The tourism industry contributed significantly to the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP), registering a ratio of 8.5% or $194.2 billion in 2018. Fifteen African countries contributed more than 10% of the GDP and another 20 states provided a share of more than 8% of GDP.

Dependent on foreign tourists

One of the most attractive African destinations was Morocco with around 12 million tourist arrivals per annum, followed by Egypt with another 11 million people and South Africa with more than 10 million arrivals.

Africa_TOP Five of the most visited African Countries in 2019 (million)
Source: African Union, Impact of the Coronavirus on the African Economy

Tanzania, famous for its safari industry, has been hit hard by the lockdown measures. The government has already announced its concerns regarding the scenario of 477,000 people losing their jobs which represents a 76% drop in direct employment and a similar decrease in revenue. A survey regarding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Africa’s safari industry conducted by safaribookings.com indicated a decrease of at least three-quarters of bookings. In 2019 Ghana contributed €1.75 billion from tourism which represents over 5.5% of GDP. Africa’s US$12.4 billion safari industry received a major blow as soon as it had to rely on a tiny local customer base for tourism.

Airports have been closed, food and beverage businesses are shut, hotel bookings have been canceled, cultural tours and visits to local attractions have been abandoned. With no tourists, many companies have found themselves in a critical financial situation. While the larger firms have credit facilities, they can use to survive this global crisis, small businesses face even tougher times ahead. Even when the outbreak is over, it could take over a year for the African tourism sector to recover and the sector’s losses could range between $30 and $50 billion.

A threat to Africa’s wildlife

As well as local economies, wildlife conservations are suffering a huge crisis. The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center, home to more than 291 individual animals from 52 species, has already registered a shortfall of about $50,000. These animals need both feeding and veterinary care, the cost of which used to be covered from the sale of entry tickets to tourists. The Center’s workers are concerned about tourists’ refusal to visit the site due to the widespread misbelief that coronavirus originated from wild animals.

Another potential threat to African wildlife appears to be the poachers who are capitalizing on the lockdown measures to pursue their illegal activities. According to CNBC, the black rhino population has decreased by about 97% since 1960, the lion population has dropped by 43% in the last 21 years and about 35,000 African elephants are killed each year. Since the lockdown measures, at least nine rhinos have been killed in the northwest South Africa, and another six rhinos have been poached in Botswana.

Unfortunately, since African countries closed their borders, highly organized wildlife trade could now bring these species to the brink of extinction over the next few decades. In the absence of revenue from tourism – a vital source of finance resources, is becoming more difficult to protect wildlife conservation and to financing anti-poaching initiatives has become a genuine challenge.

Reshaping African tourism

The post-crisis tourism recovery process should take into consideration a rethinking of the entire sector.

The marketing strategy should focus on:

  • avoiding misconceptions about the scale of the pandemic in Africa;
  • restoring confidence in African countries as potential holiday destinations;
  • providing financial inducements to tourism and related companies such as tax incentives and waivers, insurance, bailouts and other support strategies;
  • stimulating the domestic and intra-African tourism and travel trade can serve as a trigger for the industry’s recovery.

Source: theconversation.com

Coordinated actions of a post-crisis marketing will keep the industry afloat, contributing to its recovery even if it will take several months to achieve similar indicators to the pre-COVID period.

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