Tourism Is Critical to Africa’s Development: Discover How We Are Africa, The Continent’s Most Dynamic Travel Show, Is Committed to Rebranding African Travel

Here’s the good news: travel and tourism in Africa is booming. In 2018, the continent enjoyed a 5.6% spike in growth[1], making it the world’s second-fastest growing region – when compared with a 3.6% global average growth, the future appears rosy for Africa’s owners and operators. And in a continent where the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) found travel and tourism contributed almost $200 billion to the economy last year (8.5% of GDP) and employs 6.7% of all working Africans, it’s an industry crucial to future growth.

However, the statistics paint an incomplete picture. Geographically, Africa makes up 20% of the globe: but just 3% of the world’s tourism market. Italy, as a single country, receives more visitors every year than Africa does. It’s statistics such as these that drive We Are Africa, a dynamic, 4-day trade show and thriving global community who meet yearly at Cape Town Stadium. Inviting 400 of the leading minds and visionaries in African travel – including 200 regional high-end properties and 200 global luxury buyers, as well as a fleet of prestigious international journalists – the event is now in its sixth year and has spawned its own popular un-conference, FUSE.

The event has a clear mission in mind – to project a modern, dynamic image of the continent; rebrand African travel for a diverse audience; and above all showcase Africa’s many facets, proving beyond all doubt that it is #NotOneStory. With sponsorship support from headline partner South Africa Tourism and the City of Cape Town, the show has now become an essential part of the Mother City’s calendar.

“This gathering of luxury African travel brands, buyers and the international press in Cape Town, is not only the perfect place to showcase what we have to offer in our local tourism industry, it also offers a platform to discuss the opportunities for growing the tourism market on our continent,” agrees Dan Plato, Executive Mayor of Cape Town. As a location, Cape Town is ideally situated: cosmopolitan; affordable; and wonderfully picturesque. For Plato, it’s the perfect springboard from which to explore the rest of the continent. “There is room to expand the popularity of Africa and this gathering brings the possibility of driving more air traffic and tourists to our continent, with Cape Town well-placed as its gateway. I hope that many more tourists will see Africa as a must-see destination,” he concludes.

[1] World Travel and Tourism Council, 2018