To boost tourism on the continent, governments and private-sector players need to review their approach to intra-Africa tourism and implement new strategies.

This is according to Kenya Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary and the Chairperson of the UN World Tourism Organization Executive Council, Najib Balala.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments around the world to implement travel bans and lockdowns to mitigate the spread of the virus, which has had a major economic impact on the global travel and tourism sector.

Balala explained in an open letter to the industry that he was hopeful about the future of tourism in Africa. “We first need to accept that recovery from this pandemic will take time and we must be patient as we recover from it.

“Secondly, we need a paradigm shift of the industry’s mindset if we want a quick recovery and better tourism. It is no longer about waiting for international visitors to come in for tourism to thrive.”

He believes that Kenya must appreciate the domestic market more and offer them products that are right for them. “We need to not be dependent on foreign tourism and, instead, start investing heavily in the domestic and intra-African tourism markets. Many of the now well-established international markets started initially with a focus on their own domestic and regional markets,” explained Balala.

“African states must unite and form a federation to promote tourism within the continent. If we can just have 300-400 million people travelling within the continent, we can surely boost each other’s jobs and generate revenue without being dependent on international tourists.”

Owner of Let’s Go Travel Uniglobe, Alan Dixson, responded to Balala’s open letter in an article on his LinkedIn profile, highlighting that there was a need for incentives to ensure a quick recovery of the sector. “Analyse disincentives by central government and county governments that hinder growth in domestic tourism and long-term overseas tourism,” said Dixson.

">“We in tourism should be considering how to look after one of our greatest assets – our professional staff – to be able to ride the storm. How do we consider approaching all this? As a united industry with guiding policies we would be stronger, than as individuals in a big pond.”