Getting the Numbers Up

　　The 20th United Nations World Tourism (UNWTO)General Assembly co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwein August marked a milestone in promoting tourism andinfrastructure development in Africa.

　　The tourism showcase event, an important catalyst forgrowth in Africa’s tourism sector, was hosted in the Zambiantourist hub of Livingstone and the Zimbabwean town ofVictoria Falls. Sylvia Masebo, Zambian Minister of Tourismand Arts, told ChinAfrica that the hosting of the event wouldhave a lasting impact on the tourism industry as the two nationsnow have an opportunity to showcase various tourismattractions to the entire world.

　　“We expect to leave an indelible mark on our memories,and that it be part of our generational legacy, marking aclear turning point in the tourism fortunes of our two countries,our regions and indeed our continent,” Masebo saidat the UNWTO assembly.

　　While it is acknowledged that tourism is on the rise inmany African nations, what should be borne in mind is thatthe sector is beset by challenges in need of urgent solutions.

　　Some of the challenges to the sustainable development of tourism in Africa include poor infrastructure, unreliable airtransport, taxes on tourism investment, an underdevelopedservice sector, high crime rates, strict visa requirements andinadequate accommodation space.

　　Opening the UNWTO assembly Zimbabwean PresidentRobert Mugabe bemoaned the problem of connectivity inAfrica, saying Africa will only be able to promote tourism byincreasing intra-Africa travel.

　　“The current situation where Africa only has a 4-percentshare of global tourism revenue in spite of its massivenatural and cultural tourism resources is a matter of greatconcern to us. There is no way Africa can increase its portionof the global tourism cake without first promoting intra-Africa travel,” said Mugabe.

　　In a communique issued after the assembly, the tourismministers noted that crossing international borders is afundamental experienceand expressed concernsthat complicated visa procedureshave continued toimpede tourist travel.The ministers agreedon the need to speedilyremove visa requirementsand introduce other measuressuch as e-visas orintroduce visas on arrival.

　　Meanwhile, a studyby the World Bank saidthat airfares in Africa werealmost 50 percent higherthan elsewhere and charter tours were 20-30 percent moreexpensive compared with other destinations.The studyshowed that only 10 percent of the continent’s 390,000hotel rooms are estimated to meet international standards,while road transport was found to be notoriously poor inmuch of Africa.

　　As UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rufai said at the assembly,the future of Africa’s development depends on thetourism industry, hence the need for countries to increaseefforts to promote the sector.

　　Rufai said African destinations are challenging and difficultto reach and tourism on the continent needs morepromotion and marketing.

　　Despite these imposing challenges, international touristarrivals in Africa have surged from 15million in 1990 to 50 million last year andtourism earnings from $6 billion in 1990to $34 billion last year. But the continent’srevenue from the industry accounts foronly 4 percent of the global figure, accordingto UNWTO.

　　The Zimbabwe Minister of Tourism andHospitality Industry, Walter Mzembi, saidthe event would also grow the continent’stourism sector at a double-digit pace, yetthe benefit from tourism remains low. UNWTOforecasts that Africa will receive 85million international tourist arrivals by 2020 and 134 millionby 2030, an increase of 8.1 percent per year.

　　“Africa’s benefit from tourism has remained largely suppressed.Through this conference, we want to see how wecan improve the current 4-percent figure and see it gettingto double digits,” he said.