Africa leads world tourism growth
January 30, 2007 - 9:55AM
African tourist arrivals grew at twice the global growth rate in 2006,
driven by visitors to sub-Saharan countries such as South Africa and Kenya,
the World Tourism Organization said on Monday.
Africa outpaced all other regions last year in tourism, with visitor
numbers growing by 8.1 percent compared with a global growth rate of 4.5
percent, the Madrid-based U.N. agency reported.
The results showed global tourism had seen off risks such as terrorism,
health threats and rising oil prices, the agency said in its annual review.
While sub-Saharan Africa saw growth of nearly ten percent, arrivals to
North Africa increased 5.8 percent, with the lead destination Morocco.
Other emerging regions also showed strong expansion, such as Asia and the
Pacific, which were up 7.6 percent after the recovery of Thailand following
the December 2004 tsunami.
International tourist arrivals were seen up around 4 percent in 2007, in
line with forecast long-term annual growth of 4.1 percent to 2020, the U.N.
agency said.
The WTO had said in November it expected tourism demand to grow at 4.6
percent in 2006 and 4.0 percent in 2007, led by the emerging markets of
Africa and Asia and the Pacific.
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