While seeing the beautiful wildlife and environment of Africa, tourists can also boost the economy and aid the country in its fight against poverty. Tourists can do this by simply continuing to visit the country, as it has been shown not only that African tourism reduces poverty in its Sub-Saharan countries, but also helps to build roads and schools and overall enhances the communities in the area.

Each year, millions of people visit Africa to experience both its culture and its beauty. Because of this, countries in Africa have created a thriving hotel and travel industry, creating numerous jobs and boosting the economy as a whole. Many of the more common tourist spots, like the islands Seychelles and Cape Verde, had an average of 16% of all employees in the countries working jobs directly linked to tourism, and this does not include all of the restaurants, shops, etc. that tourists frequently visit.

The Sub-Saharan districts of Africa have seen such rapid growth in their economies as a result of tourism that nonprofit organizations have been created to support this tourism. The Fair Train in Tourism South Africa organization was created to promote tourism in all of the Sub-Saharan countries but focused most specifically on South Africa. The nonprofit researches ways for tourists to sustainably visit the country and ensures that tourists practice fair purchasing, fair treatment to locals and respect the culture and environment that they are visiting. This nonprofit and the Fair Trade in Tourism organization as a whole also support the countries in various ways, like pushing for fair wages and working conditions within the tourism industry and ensuring that the businesses are run ethically and safely.

The tourism industry has become such an integral part of the economy in these Sub-Saharan regions that their governments are actively including the tourism industry in their government plans for the future. A meeting of UNCTAD, or the United Nations Conference Trade and Development, determined that 49 countries in Africa have created plans to boost the tourism industry even further.

How Has African Tourism Economically Reduced Poverty?

The main way African tourism reduces poverty is through creating jobs. The government’s plans to expand the industry will further the number of jobs that are available and increase the overall flow of money coming from foreign places into the country. This money can then be funneled into things like furthering education, building better road systems, creating cleaner water systems, etc. The jobs that the industry creates are also easy to learn and, mostly, do not require a higher education. Therefore, African tourism reduces poverty specifically among individuals who were not able to pursue their education and may otherwise be unable to find a well-paying job. Many of the people holding these jobs are also women, who make up more than 60% of employees within hotels and travel industries.

Despite the recent hit that the industry took as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is expected to return to its previous success which was most recently observed in 2019. Specifically, Morocco, the most traveled country in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa, has seen a huge improvement in its economy due to the jobs that African tourism has brought in. In 2019, it was estimated that about 5% of employment was due to the tourism industry. The entirety of Sub-Saharan Africa has seen more than $30 billion as a result of the tourism industry in 2019 alone, and the numbers should only rise as they have almost continuously done over the past decade.

What Good Has Come from Tourism Thus Far?

So far, citizens in the Sub-Saharan regions of the continent have seen enhanced roads, advanced internet access and higher-quality waste disposal. Because the goal of the tourism industry is to provide a good experience for travelers so that they will return again, businesses focus on creating a comfortable environment for travelers. This comfort expands beyond the various hotels and tourist spots to also be experienced by locals.

Furthermore, because of the tourism industry and the money it brings in, the government has also built up communities and has been able to fund public organizations that help the local people. More than 700 community projects have been put in place throughout the Sub-Saharan region that have provided housing and improved both schools and medical clinics, and the effect is only continuing to spread.

– Allison Groves
Photo: Flickr