Reclaiming the way Africa’s story is told via tourism
WHY do people travel to Africa? Is it out of curiosity, a need for adventure, or a craving for the exotic?
According to the UN World |Trade Organisation, the “dark” continent attracts close to 60 million travellers a year. Not bad. A couple of months ago, Airbnb organised an event dubbed the Africa Travel Summit in Cape Town, which drew movers and shakers within the continent’s tourism industry to the city’s renowned Langa township for two days of reflection and dialogue around promoting inclusive travel.
Africa Tech Roundup partnered with Airbnb to produce a podcast series, hosted by Andile Masuku, which tapped the insights of a wonderfully diverse selection of interview subjects.
As a keen observer of the growth of Africa’s tourism industry in today’s increasingly digital global environment (while based in Europe), and given the fact that my plans to attend the Africa Travel Summit fell through at the last minute, I found the series useful in highlighting topical issues and conveying the essence of the event. As such, I felt moved to share some of my key takeaways from the podcast series.
There appears to be a cultural shift in ownership of the African experience narrative, catalysed by the African Diaspora. Blogging sites like Travel Africa and Visiter l’Afrique are reclaiming the way Africa’s story is told and influencing how Africans experience their own continent.
With the tables turned, it is up to Africans and African-based initiatives to beat the drums to which we will all march. In addition, tech ecosystem actors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, corporate executives and the companies they run and even creatives and social influencers must do their bit to spur the wave of innovation in the industry. It has been fascinating to observe from a distance the interplay of these elements, grapple with the massive opportunities that inclusive tourism promises to unlock for Africa.
Some governments appear to be recognising this shift and assuming a facilitating role in growing tourism on the continent. Kenya’s minister of wildlife and tourism, Najib Balala, put it this way: “We will collaborate with every disrupter to see how we can improve our work”. He was speaking to his sense that governments now realise that a well-developed, technology-driven service sector is key to driving success in national and regional tourism.
Mark Mwongela is co-founder and chief executive of a Kenyan fintech start-up servicing the tourism sector in several African markets. He maintains that in order for technology to contribute to making African tourism more inclusive and economically viable, it must be viewed as a tool to engineer relevant solutions rather than an end in itself.
“It is not just about the technology, it is about finding solutions that enable the technology to meet a primary need, “Mwongela stated.
While we endeavour to redefine Africa to outsiders, we must not neglect the work of selling the continent to the many Africans who define “tourism” as “travelling abroad”. After all, “inclusive tourism” must embody the notion that there is beauty in local destinations and that we ought to value authentic, impactful experiences which bring humankind closer together.
Notably, Google South Africa’s head of communication and public affairs, Mich Atagana, advocates for local tourism and the discovery of the gems at home. Atagana asserted that tourism must start at home, and in Africans developing getting comfortable with exploring their own spaces.
Airbnb’s global head of policy, Chris Lehane, reckons that the travel giant’s executive leadership appreciates that their business model only works if “everyone is a winner”. That’s everyone from local tourists to overseas visitors, local communities and homeowners to established travel and tourism businesses.
Lehane was quick to point out that while everyone loves a success story, and while Airbnb relishes publicising the impressive wins they are helping Africa land in advancing inclusive tourism, it is important not to oversimplify the gargantuan task at hand – which incidentally, matches the size of the addressable economic opportunity.
But there’s no doubt that the deployment of tech-based solutions in Africa can catalyse higher levels of broad-based participation in the continent’s travel and tourism industry, simultaneously inspiring a new form of accountability and transparency.
Lys Mehou-Loko is a global development policy and strategic communications professional. She has worked with international organisations in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. In her spare time, she helps budding African entrepreneurs grow, and blogs about emerging economies and travel.