2009 brought tourism boom to Africa: World Tourism Organization
LONDON: Africa witnessed a tourism boom in 2009, while the tourism industry suffered a general decline amid the economic slowdown, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (WTO).
The latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer said that growth returned to international tourism in the last quarter of 2009 contributing to better than expected full-year results.
International tourist arrivals for business, leisure and other purposes are estimated to have declined worldwide by 4 per cent in 2009 to 880 million.
This represents a slight improvement on the previous estimate as a result of the 2 per cent upswing in the last quarter of 2009. In contrast, international tourist arrivals shrank by 10 per cent, 7 per cent and 2 per cent in the first three quarters respectively.
Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East led the recovery with growth already turning positive in both regions in the second half of 2009, the organization said.
"The global economic crisis aggravated by the uncertainty around the A(H1N1) pandemic turned 2009 into one of the toughest years for the tourism sector", said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
"However, the results of recent months suggest that recovery is underway, and even somewhat earlier and at a stronger pace than initially expected", he added.
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