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The loss of safari tourism during the coronavirus pandemic has been significant for African economies. Photo: Shutterstock

African economies reliant on tourism face slow recovery after Covid-19

  • Tourist arrivals in the continent fell nearly 70 per cent in 2020, which had a severe economic impact in countries dependent on the travel sector
  • Travellers from China, one of the largest sources of tourists, slow to return as they opt to travel domestically and global pandemic containment continues
Before the coronavirus struck, Sam Kombe would receive tens and sometimes hundreds of Chinese visitors to Tanzania per month, travelling to the east African nation to sample safari tourism.

Kombe owns Safari Infinity, a tour company in Arusha, in the country’s north, and Nyumbani Collection, a safari camp in the Serengeti, which is famed for its annual wildebeest migration.

Safari Infinity was getting many bookings from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore before coronavirus infections were detected in Tanzania, those locations accounting for about 30 per cent of the guests.

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Seychelles welcomes tourists with Covid-19 vaccinations, allowing them to skip quarantine

Seychelles welcomes tourists with Covid-19 vaccinations, allowing them to skip quarantine

But since last year, “all of the Asian clients have either cancelled or postponed due to fear of the virus”, Kombe said. “Understandably, these are extraordinary times, an especially challenging period for those in the tourism industry, and everyone is being pretty careful when travelling.”

The virus has also stopped tourists coming from traditional markets such as the US and Britain. “Most of our Western guests have done the same, with some still planning to come this summer, but the situation is constantly shifting, so we are not sure,” Kombe said.

By this time of year, bookings would normally be well advanced for the wildebeest migration season, starting in June, with numbers tending to peak in July and August.

Kombe’s experience mirrors that of many businesses in Africa that were left on their knees after countries imposed travel restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The continent recorded a 69 per cent drop in tourist arrivals in 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization.

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Reviving the tourism industry featured when China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Seychelles in January for talks with President Wavel Ramkalawan.

“Seychelles is a country built on tourism,” Wang said. “China is ready to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Seychelles after the pandemic is brought under control.”

International travel for mainland Chinese is effectively restricted, with most returning travellers subject to a 14-day quarantine in their city of arrival and some facing further measures when they reach their hometown.

Tourist arrivals in Seychelles have dropped more than 70 per cent during the pandemic, while tourism revenues were down 61 per cent in 2020 compared with the previous year, the finance ministry has said.

However, Seychelles’ inoculation of most of its population with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine has raised hopes for its tourism industry. Last month, the country reopened its borders, allowing entry to visitors with a negative Covid-19 test and exempting those staying in approved hotels from having to quarantine.

01:26

Chinese travellers pack tourist sites for May Day holiday as Covid-19 fears fade

Chinese travellers pack tourist sites for May Day holiday as Covid-19 fears fade

Charles Robertson, the global chief economist at Renaissance Capital, an emerging and frontier markets investment bank, said big tourism destinations in Africa had suffered, with Seychelles having its credit rating downgraded considerably by Fitch in 2020.

Morocco, Mauritius and Kenya had also been downgraded by at least one agency, Robertson said, adding that Chinese tourist numbers had been rising significantly in the preceding decade. Several African countries have friendly visa rules for Chinese nationals.

For tourism-reliant Rwanda, according to London consultancy Capital Economics, a return of tourists would be one of the biggest factors in the economy’s recovery, “although we think visitor numbers will only return to pre-pandemic levels slowly”. It forecast that the sector was likely to pick up in 2022 and 2023.

Rwanda is a popular destination for gorilla trekking, which has been gaining traction among China’s elite travellers and is lucrative. The country has drastically reduced the price of gorilla trekking permits to attract tourists back.

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Kenya had a 72 per cent drop in international arrivals last year. China, its fourth-largest overseas source of tourists in 2019, had the worst drop, of 81 per cent, according to the Kenya Tourism Board.

Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers chief executive Mike Macharia said tourist numbers from China had begun to creep back up, but not at the rate expected.

“For a typical Chinese traveller, the first thing they did was to start travelling within their country,” Macharia said. “We have not seen a huge jump in travel by Asians to Africa.”

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