Africa is growing in popularity.
Euromonitor International's new data showed international arrivals to Africa grew by 6.5 percent in 2017, with more than 18.6 million people traveling to the continent. Five years ago, that number was 16.4 million.
Africa's key travel markets include South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Mauritius and Tanzania. These countries accounted for 70 percent of international trips to the Sub-Saharan African region.
One of the key growth drivers at the moment is digital integration, which is helping increase Africa's footprint on the world travel map.
Another is the increasing interaction between hotels, airlines and car rental companies. Platforms such as social media, meta-search engines and the penetration of online travel agents to better communicate with one another provide more robust travel options for visitors.
"Many countries are moving away from only promoting Africa as a traditional safari destination, exploring other niche categories such as beach and medical tourism," said Euromonitor Research Analyst Christy Tawii.
"The travel and tourism market continues to introduce products that suit different types of travelers, accounting for strong growth in major cities across Sub-Saharan Africa," Tawii added.
The outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be strong. Euromonitor predicts a growth to 25 million trips by 2022 and says that ongoing growth will be driven by increased interest from overseas visitors due to more competitive rates. While price will be a factor, destination marketing campaigns and an increase in airlift, especially from long-haul markets, will also drive inbound tourism.
Making Africa easier to reach is key.
Air prices for travel to the continent remain steep, but as airlift increases, prices will be driven down due to competition. Right now, several airlines plan to offer increased airlift.
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Olivier Jager, CEO of ForwardKeys, noted that: "The growth in air travel to Africa is impressive. However, it is notable that consumer demand and airline investment is greater in travel to African countries from outside the continent than it is between African countries."
Right now, only a small percentage of African airlines fly international routes.
ForwardKeys research shows that international air capacity in major African destinations is growing. By the end of the year, the East African Community of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania will welcome six new air routes. Kigali, Rwanda, will offer new routes to Brussels, London and Mumbai. Flights on FlyDubai will connect Kilimanjaro and Dubai. Other flights will connect Nairobi to Muscat and Yemen.
The desire to make air connections between Africa and other countries around the world more robust is one that is shared by many.
"As an international executive who has traveled around Africa for many years, I am longing for the day when it is easier to fly directly between African cities, as is possible on other continents," said Jon Howell, Managing Director of AviaDev, Africa's leading airline route development conference.
"I am sure I'm not alone in that desire and I'm equally sure, it will happen eventually…" he added.
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