Africa Wants to Attract More Chinese Tourists: 'The Potential is Enormous, We Need to be Prepared'
Leading African tourist destinations such as South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania are actively marketing to and facilitating travel for Chinese tourists in the post-pandemic era. Despite the substantial number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad for holidays in 2019—nearly 155 million—less than 1 million visited Africa, despite the region experiencing rapid growth in Chinese visitors prior to COVID-19.
Countries are now enhancing visa policies, improving air connections, implementing Chinese-language marketing strategies, and expanding social media outreach to attract more visitors beyond the current business travel segment.
However, challenges such as safety concerns, limited awareness of Africa in China, and economic hardships affecting Chinese travel present hurdles. While the potential for Chinese tourism in Africa is significant, experts caution that African tourism should not solely depend on China and must also target other emerging markets. Additionally, there is a need to tailor experiences to better meet Chinese expectations.
Source: Le Monde
