Africa’s Fast-Growing Tourism Industry Could Lose up to $120 Billion and Millions of Jobs
By Heather Richardson
When the Covid-19 pandemic changed the world earlier this year many African countries were quick to react. Borders were closed and protocols from past or existing epidemics (TB, HIV, Ebola) were rolled out. Of the many industries hit by lockdowns, tourism—an industry that indirectly employs 24.6 million people across the continent (6.8% of total employment)—was hit particularly hard.
In July, Safaribookings.com surveyed 306 safari operators and found that over 90% had seen a 75% or more decrease in both booking requests and actual bookings due to the coronavirus outbreak. The World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) best case scenario is $53 billion hit to GDP across the continent; its worst case scenario is a $120 billion loss in GDP contribution.
Photo courtesy of Valeriia Bugaiova.
Source: Quartz Africa (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Tags
- tourism
