TOURISM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

TDM 458Ara Pachmayer

Africa: A Continent waiting to be rediscovered

What comes to mind when you think of Africa?

Geography, History, Politics

Overview

Africa Facts

The continent of Africa comprised of 54 countries with a population of over 900 million people

The continent covers 6% of the Earth’s total surface area – very low populations density

Second largest continent after Asia Each country is varied in its resources,

culture, historical legacies, and economic, social, and political structures

Africa: Historical Overview

Prehistoric Times Origins of Man; Olduvai Gorge - Tanzania

5000 BC - 1500 AD Existence of several indigenous African civilizations

and Empires – Potential for Cultural Tourism Nubia: Nile region 5,000 B.C. Egyptian: 3000-2000 B.C. Kushite/Meroe (Sudan): 500 B.C-320A.D. Axum (Replaced Kushite): 320 A. D. Ghana: 800 A.D. Zimbabwe: 850 A.D. Mali: 1240 A.D. Songhai Empire (Western Africa): 1495 A.D.

Africa: Historical Overview

Late 1400’s to late 1800’s European exploration, adventurism, exploitation

of natural and human resources and political subjagation

Countries involved in African “adventurism” Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany,

Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden

These countries have influenced, altered and even distorted the geographical, social and cultural landscapes of Africa

Africa: Historical Overview

1884: The Berlin Conference Political Partitioning of Africa Drawing of today’s political boundaries;

mostly arbitrary lines without social and ethnic considerations of local communities

Laid the foundations of contemporary land disputes, civil wars and political conflicts

Historical Overview - 1884 - 1950 Colonial administration and governance

primarily by Belgium, England, France and Portugal

Exploitation of economic resources Globalization - export of raw “material”

and importation of manufactured goods Europeanization through educational

system, language, religion, lifestyle, civil administration, etc.

Political Independence, de-colonization transition

Period of political instability due to liberation wars, civil wars, coups d’etat etc.

Attempts at regional and continental unification

Economic marginalization

Historical Overview – 1950 – 1970’s

Completion of de-colonization process Increased emphasis of democratization Greater acceptance of privatization, free

enterprise models of economic development

External imposition of structural adjustment policies IMF, World Bank etc. forced

implementation of ‘free market’ programs (Privatization, Deregulation)

Natural and man-made disasters Continuing political and military conflicts

Historical Overview – 1980’s - Today

Huge impact on tourism today Languages, religions, cultural

similarities, VFR, familiarity Source market of tourists $ for infrastructure International companies transportation links

Ex. British-India connectionEx. French-Lao connectionEx. Spanish-Latin America connection

Impact of Colonialism on Modern Tourism

Impact of Colonialism on Modern Tourism

Transportation Airlines

British Airways: London-Accra, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Abuja

Air France: Paris- Nouakchott, Dakar, Bamako, Conakry, Abidjan, Niamey, N’Djamena Yaoundé, Bangui, Libreville

TAP Portugal: Luanda, Maputo, Bissau, Not just Africa, but remnants of

colonialism are worldwide

Tourism Today

Tourism Statistics and Trends International Tourism arrivals in Sub-Saharan

Africa - 33 million International Tourism Expenditures of $23

billion Grew by about 7% South Africa Share of arrivals and exp.

25% of arrivals 41% of expenditures

Trends and Projections 2020 – 55 million arrivals 2030 – 88 million arrivals

Regional Distribution of Tourist Arrivals (2010)

Region Arrivals Southern Africa 12.6 million East Africa 12.1million West & Central Africa 6.8 million

Africa as a Source Market

Setting for Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sheer size of the region is an asset as well as a hindrance to developing a tourism industry

Most of the continent is sparsely populated, offering wide-open spaces, an almost unique wealth of wildlife, spectacular scenery, and tribal cultures that have fascinated travelers for centuries

There are considerable variations in the scale of tourism development in Africa from most developed ones to least developed ones Countries such as Kenya, Mauritius and The

Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, Morocco and Tunisia in the north, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in the south are successful tourism destinations

Countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Zambia have limited leisure tourism potential Limited infrastructure Security and safety issues Political instability

Setting for Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Positives and Potentials for Sub-Saharan Africa Tourism

Cultural understanding-South African Township tours

Cultural diversity - Historical cultures and current cultures

Volunteer Tourism Community-Based tourism Conservation of gorillas, elephants, etc Adventure Tourism Natural wonders of the world- Victoria falls, Nile

River, Congo River, Great Rift Valley…etc Beach Tourism-largely untouched coastal areas

with little development Diaspora Tourism

Barriers to Tourism Development

AIDS - Botswana’s work force future Highly educated, young, politically stable Huge AIDS rate (40% or more)

Poverty and need to fill basic human needs of food, clean water, healthcare, education are of primary importance

Infrastructure Roads, Airports, Ferries, Rail etc.

Zimbabwe- Inflation and harsh totalitarian government Expiration dates on money, limits on cash, Mugabe - White farmers, current violence

Problems & Challenges

Problems & Challenges

Comparative costs, value, quality service delivery

Communication network: telephone, faxes, e-mails for travel arrangements

Limited marketing budget, lack of awareness of key international markets

Absence of skilled human resources for tourism planning, development, promotion and management Difficult to provide the type of experience tourists

are expecting

Low income, limited savings of citizens Weak source for domestic or regional

tourism (people from the region don’t travel much)

Africa tourism is Euro-dependent More than 2/3 of African tourists originate from

Europe and North America Sparse domestic investment capital

Reliance on foreign investment Reliance on multi-national corporations

Problems & Challenges

Multi - national Corporations: Benefit or Liability?

Tourism industry in Africa has traditionally been dominated by multi - national corporations , primarily Western, making this a questionable area of economic development

Transport of tourists to Africa is predominantly carried out by Western airlines. (increasing connections from US)

Accommodation is often provided in hotel chains owned and managed by multi-national corporations

Senior management of tourist facilities tends to be expatriate

Food consumed by tourists is specially imported for them

Problems & Challenges

Liberation wars: e.g. Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe

Civil Wars: e.g. DRC, Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi

Coups d’etat: Sudden forceful overthrow of legitimate government by army and/or police

Problems & Challenges for Travelers

Health: Entry requirements - vaccinations Endemic conditions threats: air-borne,

water-borne and food-borne diseases Facilitation: Visa requirements,

information and processing Transportation: long-haul, cost, frequency,

reliability, safety with national airlines Poor road, rail and water transportation

Specific Destinations

Kenya & Tanzania

Nature based, safari tourism General, photo, hunting, walking, hot air

balloon, camel/desert, underwater Eco-systems - Serengeti, Masai Area,

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Archaeological, Heritage Tourism -

Olduvai Gorge Cultural Tourism - The Masai Trbe

Community based tourism

Kampi Ya Kanzi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ7iAcr

WGfk Can fast forward to around 2:39 of the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0e-s0Kq-60&feature=plcp Longer video which explains the role of the

trust 10 reasons

http://www.maasai.com/10-reasons-to-come/ Gives a detailed overview of why tourists should

visit and how their visit helps the local community

Gorilla Tourism Uganda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezz-sbdPpEw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VXzsZO44VE&feature=related (about 17 minutes long but very interesting and good explanation of how tourism is changing the country)