The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has urged African states to formulate strategies on how to woo travellers within the continent to spur its hospitality and travel sectors.
The UNWTO Executive Council says is high time for the region reflected and developed intra-Africa tourism and open-sky policies to ensure affordable flights.
“Look at Spain, it receives 82 million visitors, the majority from the neighbours and Europe, France and the UK the same. Africa has 1.2 billion people and if we just have 400 million people travelling within Africa that would be good enough for us. So far, we only have 62 million people travelling into Africa; that number is very low,” said the UNWTO executive council chair Mr Najib Balala.
Mr Balala, who is also Kenya’s Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, was speaking during an interview with a local FM station on how the sector can revamp post-the coronavirus global pandemic that has hardest hit tourism worldwide.
He said Africa should encourage intra-Africa tourism.
