AFRICA NEEDS MORE
LIBERALIZED TRADE INITIATIVES FOR THE CONTINUED GROWTH
AND SUSTAINABILITY OF ITS TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
by David J.
Saunders
The
World Tourism Organization (WTO) has recently
acknowledged that the travel and tourism industry, which
is on a similar footing to oil and automobile exports,
needs to be put firmly on the agenda of current
international trade talks as an effective means of
poverty alleviation, creating jobs and boosting the
income of the world's less developed nations.
Accordingly, the WTO has requested that the upcoming
trade discussions do not neglect the travel and tourism
industry in their deliberations. The WTO presented this
new trade initiative called "liberalization with a human
face" at the most recent meeting of the Doha Development
Round in Cancun. This strategy links the elimination of
the remaining trade barriers &endash; many of which do
not involve tariffs and include measures such as "travel
advisories which certain governments abuse, thus unfairly
penalizing many destinations in less developed nations"
&endash; with policies which respect the rights of
peoples in destination countries. Many less developed
countries would definitely benefit from the expansion of
trade and investments with the travel and tourism
industry, and developed countries would not lose anything
in the process because their enterprises will benefit
from increased trade resulting from greater
liberalization initiatives.
Although tourism is covered in
principle by the General Agreement on Trade in Services
of 1994, it seems to have been forgotten that tourism
receipts represent a larger volume of world trade than
agricultural food exports. Moreover, tourism is poised
to be one of the most decisive factors for promoting
trade with developing nations and therefore helping to
reduce poverty, but in order to achieve this goal it
needs to be given greater recognition as a services
export. The travel and tourism industry has the unique
ability to catalyze wealth, investment and jobs in the
economies of less developed nations and also serve to
stimulate infrastructure for transport as well as
encourage improvements in hygiene and sanitation within
the global trading system in many of the less developed
countries. With the global focus on poverty alleviation
the relative importance of the travel and tourism
industry in Africa cannot be overstated. The tourism
growth of African countries is higher than industrialized
countries and the one commodity that all of the world's
less developed countries share is their natural
environment, climate, heritage and cultural tradition
&endash; the very areas that tomorrow's eco-conscious
tourist will be seeking.
According to the WTO, Africa has
emerged as a region of promising potential for the travel
and tourism industry. As we move further into the
twenty-first century, it appears that this may be the
best time in the history of the travel and tourism
industry to market African destinations. The overall
quality of services available, affordability of tour
programs and convenience of travel to the Continent of
Africa is rapidly becoming increasingly more competitive.
Moreover, according to recent travel and tourism trends,
a new traveler to the Continent of Africa is emerging - -
- a more culturally focused tourist - - - one who seeks
their vacation to reflect upon the awareness of the
environment, exhibits a keen interest in spiritual
exploration and a demonstrated commitment to social
values through their participation in the African tourism
experience. Overall, African tourists are becoming more
sophisticated than ever before and want to experience the
myriad of authentic and exotic destinations that the
Continent of Africa has to offer.
The regional overview for the
Continent of Africa as reported by the WTO can be
summarized as follows: Africa is the part of the world
where the travel and tourism industry made significant
progress, with international arrivals rising by 6.1%,
third behind the Middle East at 9.7% and Asia and the
Pacific at 7.2%. In the past decade, the number of
tourists choosing to visit Africa has almost doubled,
rising from 15 million to almost 29 million tourists.
During this same period, there has been a 50% increase,
with a total number of almost 715 million tourists
worldwide. In fact, tourist arrival figures have
confirmed South Africa as the fastest growing tourist
destination in the world, having attracted over 6.4
million visitors last year. However, despite this
success, Africa still only accounts for less than 4% of
world tourism, with its share, revenue wise, at only 2.5%
(an estimated $16 billion in 2002) out of annual sales of
close to $4.5 trillion. This gap is largely due to the
low level of expenditure throughout the African
Continent, and the short average length of stay at these
destinations.
With regard to the travel and
tourism industry, the Continent of Africa is projected to
be the most attractive sector of foreign direct
investment during the next decade. Recent trends
indicate that potential travelers are becoming more aware
of a wide diversity of people and environments in Africa,
which is unequalled in any other location in the world,
from its fantastic wildlife and natural landscapes to its
fascinating and cultural historical heritage.
Accordingly, tourism ranked third behind
tele-communications and agri-business industries that
received considerable foreign direct investments in
Africa. The major areas of concentration offering
tremendous opportunity for potential investors in the
travel and tourism industry for Africa are in adventure
tourism, cultural/historical tourism and eco-tourism. It
is also a well-known fact that Africa boast outstanding
tourist attractions: from its majestic deserts in the
north and south, wonderful beaches in the east and west,
tropical rainforests in the middle, and unique nature and
game reserves in the east and south.
Consequently, the future holds out
much promise for African tourism which, to date, has
attracted primarily westerners, either going there on
vacation or for business. With an annual growth rate of
over six percent the volume of activity in this sector
should rise by a factor of four between now and 2020.
The number of visitors will thus rise to almost 80
million, with intra-regional tourism accounting for
two-thirds of all visitors. The WTO is actively
promoting the development of tourism in Africa that will
enhance regional integration, as well as catalyze
economic development and simultaneously promote
bio-diversity conservation. Targeted areas that should
be concentrated on through this initiative include: (a)
major investments in new and existing tourism
infrastructure; (b) the upliftment of rural poor through
community-based tourism development linked to expanding
inward investment in tourism and related infrastructure;
and (c) strengthening of regional safety and security
measures. However, any such developments will have to go
hand-in-hand with improved investments in infrastructures
covering both accommodations and transportation services.
Consequently, the future holds out much promise for
African tourism which, to date, has attracted primarily
westerners, either going there on vacation or for
business. With an annual growth rate of over six percent
the volume of activity in this sector should rise by a
factor of four between now and 2020. The number of
visitors will thus rise to almost 80 million, with
intra-regional tourism accounting for two-thirds of all
visitors.
In closing, Africa is truly an
immense, diverse and endlessly fascinating continent and
the travel and tourism industry of Africa continues to
offer unlimited potential for economic growth and
opportunity. Moreover, the WTO currently ranks the
African Continent as one of the fastest growing
destinations for international tourists. As a result,
tourism organizations, tour operators, governments, hotel
groups, airlines and other service-related providers in
Africa are now joining forces to ensure that the
continent is put firmly on the map as one of the world's
premiere travel and tourism destination.
About the author: David J.
Saunders is the CEO of Venue International Professionals,
Inc. (VIP) &endash; a travel and tourism consulting firm
based in the Washington Metropolitan Area that
specializes in travel and tourism opportunities to the
Continent of Africa. He has conducted tours to
twenty-five African countries over the past seven years
and is a frequent writer of articles on the travel and
tourism industry of Africa in several trade publications.
He is also the Program Director of the Constituency for
Africa (CFA) which is the premiere advocacy-focused
non-governmental organization addressing the challenges,
issues and concerns of Africa. He can be contacted at
vipinc@erols.com.
