Africa welcomed 74 million international arrivals in 2024, 7% above its 2019 level and 12% above 2023. That recovery sits alongside a much longer tourism story: arrivals rose from 37 million in 2003 to 58 million in 2009, while the sector’s direct employment reached 9.3 million in 2017. The figures below show how tourism demand, receipts, jobs, and destination leadership have changed across Africa.
Contents
- Africa tourism at a glance
- Long-term arrivals and market share
- Tourism receipts and economic importance
- Regional arrivals and long-haul travel in 2007
- Leading national destinations
- Tourism employment
- Recovery and the 2024 record
Africa tourism at a glance
The available figures describe a continent-wide industry that expanded over time, experienced a mid-2010s slowdown, and later recovered beyond its pre-crisis level.
- Africa recorded 56,778,386 tourist arrivals in 2007 and 22,969,159 long-haul arrivals that year (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa).
- Africa generated US$44.718 billion in tourism receipts in 2007 (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa).
- Arrivals increased from 37 million in 2003 to 58 million in 2009 (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa).
- Africa welcomed 65.3 million international tourists in 2014, equal to 5.8% of global international arrivals (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2015).
- Tourism receipts reached US$43.6 billion in 2014, representing 3.5% of the global market (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2015).
- Arrivals fell to 62.5 million in 2015, then rose slightly to 62.9 million in 2016 (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
- Africa’s 2016 arrivals represented 5.1% of worldwide arrivals, while its tourism receipts represented 3.0% of worldwide receipts (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
- Africa welcomed 74 million international arrivals in 2024, its highest figure in the supplied period (UN Tourism, International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024).
Long-term arrivals and market share
The mid-2010s figures show both the scale of Africa’s market and the effect of a year-on-year decline. In 2014, the continent received 65.3 million international tourists. In 2015, arrivals dropped to 62.5 million, a decline of 2.3 million from the previous year. The AfDB report also recorded global international arrivals of 1.186 billion in 2015, with worldwide arrivals growing 4.6% that year.
Africa’s share of worldwide arrivals fell from 5.8% in 2014 to 5.3% in 2015. Its share of worldwide tourism receipts fell to 3.1% in 2015, and international tourism receipts declined to US$39.2 billion. The AfDB reported that receipts were 9.5% lower in 2015 than in 2014. In 2016, arrivals edged up to 62.9 million, a 0.64% increase, but receipts fell again to US$36.2 billion, down 7.7% from 2015 (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2016; Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
| Measure | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa international arrivals | 65.3 million | 62.5 million | 62.9 million |
| Share of worldwide arrivals | 5.8% | 5.3% | 5.1% |
| Tourism receipts | US$43.6 billion | US$39.2 billion | US$36.2 billion |
| Share of worldwide receipts | 3.5% | 3.1% | 3.0% |
The 2024 recovery was stronger than the 2016 plateau. Africa’s 2024 arrivals were 7% above 2019 and 12% above 2023. Earlier, the continent had regained 96% of its pre-crisis international arrivals between January and December 2023 (UN Tourism, News Africa #23).
Tourism receipts and economic importance
Tourism receipts varied greatly by region and destination in the 2007 World Bank table. North Africa generated US$22.780 billion, East Africa US$7.423 billion, West Africa US$2.800 billion, and Central Africa US$681 million. South Africa alone generated US$11.034 billion.
The contribution of receipts to national economies was also uneven:
- North Africa’s tourism receipts averaged 7.2% of GDP in 2007.
- Morocco’s receipts equaled 11.1% of GDP, while Tunisia’s equaled 9.6%.
- East Africa averaged 8.9% of GDP.
- Seychelles recorded tourism receipts equal to 50% of GDP, and Mauritius recorded 25%.
- Southern Africa averaged 3.9% of GDP; Namibia recorded 8%.
- West Africa averaged 5.6% of GDP; Cape Verde recorded 30% and The Gambia 18%.
- Central Africa averaged 1% of GDP.
These are historical 2007 measurements from the World Bank’s The State of Tourism in Africa. They show the relative economic weight of tourism at that time, not current GDP shares or independently verified historical estimates.
Regional arrivals and long-haul travel in 2007
North Africa was the largest regional market in the 2007 table, with 26,854,000 tourist arrivals and 16,506,000 long-haul arrivals. It remained the second most visited African region for long-haul tourists according to the World Bank source, which also reported that Africa received more than 75% of all long-haul tourists in North Africa.
South Africa recorded 13,321,292 tourist arrivals and 1,901,966 long-haul arrivals. East Africa recorded 11,141,491 arrivals and 3,981,312 long-haul arrivals. West Africa recorded 4,699,491 arrivals and 2,364,500 long-haul arrivals. Central Africa recorded 762,112 arrivals and 294,727 long-haul arrivals, making it the least visited region in that table.
| Region or total | Tourist arrivals | Long-haul arrivals | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Africa | 26,854,000 | 16,506,000 | US$22.780 billion |
| South Africa | 13,321,292 | 1,901,966 | US$11.034 billion |
| East Africa | 11,141,491 | 3,981,312 | US$7.423 billion |
| West Africa | 4,699,491 | 2,364,500 | US$2.800 billion |
| Central Africa | 762,112 | 294,727 | US$681 million |
| Total Africa | 56,778,386 | 22,969,159 | US$44.718 billion |
For destination patterns, Kenya was the most visited East African destination for long-haul tourists, followed by Mauritius and Tanzania. Nigeria and Senegal were the two most popular West African destinations in the source’s long-haul description. Angola was the leading Central African destination for long-haul travelers (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa).
Leading national destinations
The destination rankings changed across the reported years. Egypt had the highest international tourism receipts in Africa in 2008, followed by South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritius (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa).
Arrival totals provide a clearer year-by-year comparison for the 2014–2016 period:
- In 2014, Morocco recorded 10.28 million arrivals, Egypt 9.63 million, South Africa 9.55 million, Tunisia 6.07 million, and Zimbabwe 1.88 million.
- In 2015, Morocco recorded 10.18 million arrivals, Egypt 9.14 million, South Africa 8.9 million, Tunisia 5.36 million, and Zimbabwe 2.06 million.
- In 2016, Morocco recorded 10.33 million arrivals, South Africa 10.04 million, Tunisia 5.72 million, Egypt 5.26 million, and Zimbabwe 2.17 million.
Morocco sustained more than 10 million arrivals for the fourth consecutive year in 2016. South Africa surpassed 10 million arrivals for the first time that year (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
Country-level changes were especially pronounced in 2016. Sierra Leone’s arrivals rose by 30,000, a 126% increase. Nigeria added 634,000 arrivals, a 50.5% increase. Burundi added 56,000, up 42.7%; Eritrea added 28,000, up 24.6%; Togo added 65,000, up 23.8%; and Madagascar added 49,000, up 20% (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
Tourism employment
Direct travel and tourism employment reached 6.5 million jobs in Africa in 2008 (World Bank, The State of Tourism in Africa). By 2017, direct travel and tourism employment had risen to 9.3 million, 11.2% higher than in 2016 (AfDB, Africa Tourism Monitor 2018).
The 2017 regional split recorded 2.5 million direct travel and tourism jobs in North Africa and 6.8 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. These categories are not interchangeable with total tourism-related employment: the figures specifically describe direct travel and tourism employment in the cited reports.
The change from 6.5 million direct jobs in 2008 to 9.3 million in 2017 spans different reports and measurement years. It indicates the scale of employment reported in those years, but the supplied sources do not provide a complete methodology bridge for treating the difference as a like-for-like growth rate.
Recovery and the 2024 record
The first quarter of 2024 marked an important recovery point: Africa welcomed 5% more arrivals than in the first quarter of 2019 and 13% more than in the first quarter of 2023 (UN Tourism, International tourism reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024). For the full year, Africa welcomed 74 million international arrivals, 7% above 2019 and 12% above 2023. UN Tourism described this as the second-best performing world region after the Middle East.
Morocco was a major contributor to the 2024 result, with 17.4 million international tourists. Its arrivals were 20% higher than in 2023 and 35% above 2019 levels (UN Tourism, UN Tourism in Morocco; Tourism Doing Business - Investing in Morocco). For broader comparison, the Americas welcomed 213 million international arrivals in 2024 (UN Tourism, South-South Cooperation Africa & Americas Summit).
The 2024 figures should be read as international-arrival recovery measures, while the 2007 regional table combines tourist arrivals, long-haul arrivals, and receipts. Keeping those measures and dates separate makes the long-term pattern clearer: Africa’s tourism market has expanded substantially, its economic contribution differs sharply by destination, and the latest reported arrival level stands above the continent’s 2019 benchmark.