Africa Safari Blog

According to the Uganda Tourist Board (UTB), Uganda made over Shs1.5 trillion ($660 million) from the travel and tourism sector in 2010. Despite this the country still ranks among the lowest performing in the sector globally.

In the fourth edition of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness 2011 Report published by the World Economic Forum last week, Uganda was ranked 115th, having been ranked 111th in 2009.

This indicates that the country lost four places in the ranking. The report titled ‘Beyond the Downturn’ measured the factors and policies that make a travel and tourism industry attractive for development.

Rwanda, a new country in this survey was ranked as the most preferred safari destination in Sub-Saharan Africa when it was ranked 7th in the region and 102 worldwide.

Rwanda and Uganda are the only countries in the East African region with mountain gorillas, which attract many tourists to take gorilla safaris.

Kenya, a country long famous for its tourism attributes, is ranked 8th regionally and 103rd overall having slid six places from its 2009 97th ranking.

Tanzania was ranked 11th in Sub-Saharan Africa and 110th overall, up from 98th place in 2009 while Burundi ranked 28th in Sub-Saharan Africa and 137th overall.

Mauritius emerged as the most preferred tourist destination in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Botswana, Gambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Senegal in the 2nd and 9th places respectively.

UTB has increased its participation in other markets such as UK, Germany, Spain, Japan, China and France so as to improve Uganda’s image and visibility as a tourist destination at the global level.

Besides gorilla tracking, Uganda safaris offer activities like chimpanzee trekking, game drives, birding safaris, mountain hiking trips, cultural tours among many others.

Jean Ankunda,

Africa Safari & Travel News.

The Zambia tourism sector transformation and sustained growth has succeeded over the past two years, Catherine Namugala, the Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister has said.

Ms Namugala said that the tourism sector has continued recording growth despite being affected by global economic recession.

She said, “The tourism sector in Zambia has transformed itself into a major player in poverty reduction apart from playing a crucial role in job creation among the people.”

She said the opening up of Lusaka National Park in Shantumbu area, near Lusaka city, would help in the promotion of domestic tourism, which would see more local people participate in various tourism activities.

“The tourism sector is fast growing because it has a bright future. The Government is now promoting domestic tourism because Zambians are the best people to sale the country’s tourism sector through their participation,” she said.

She said the opening of major facilities such as the Protea hotel in Chipata and Moba Hotel along the Ndola-Kitwe highway are examples of various private sector driven initiatives aimed at ensuring the tourism sector development spread evenly to all parts of Zambia.

Zambia safaris offer the following activities; sightseeing trips to the Victoria Falls, trips to the national parks that are home to excellent wildlife populations which can be viewed on the famous Zambia walking safari, on horseback or in open topped vehicles etc.

Jean Ankunda,

Africa Safari & Travel News.

Namibia has been ranked third top tourism destination in sub-Saharan Africa by the 2011 Travel and Tourism Competitive Index, coming ahead of much-popularised exotic countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.

Namibia follows South Africa at number two spot with Mauritius topping the list of 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Botswana ranking fifth in the regional listing.

Namibia ranks 84 in the overall ranking of 139 countries worldwide. Switzerland is at number one in the world, while South Africa and Botswana rank 66 and 91 respectively.

Namibia safaris offer its rich natural resources, fauna and a pristine natural environment along with prioritised environment sustainability plus well developed ground transport infrastructure, which played in its favour.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report on March 07 at the Global Tourism Forum 2011 in Andorra.

Last year’s football world cup contributed to South Africa as a safari destination as it reinforced South Africa’s position as a key international tourism destination, along with reasonably priced hotel rooms and a favourable tax regime, according to the report.

Namibia’s western neighbour, Botswana, which ranked fifth in the region scored high for its natural resources, with much nationally protected land area, rich fauna, and a lack of environmental damage.

The country also benefits from excellent price competitiveness, with low-ticket taxes and airport charges, a favourable tax regime, and low prices more generally, making Botswana safaris favourable.

Jean Ankunda,

Africa Safari & Travel News.

One of Africa’s biggest wildlife spectacles is facing threats as the Tanzania government plans to construct a highway through the northern edge of the Serengeti national park.

The World Bank however, has offered Tanzania an alternative to stop the major road project which conservation groups say would hinder the annual migration of some 2 million wildebeest.

The World Bank’s John Murray McIntire said it was ready to help Tanzania in financing an alternative route for the road that would otherwise cut through the park. This would be through new development assistance to the country, dependent on officials making the request.

“The World Bank is proposing alternatives that we believe will achieve Tanzania’s development objectives while preserving the unique character of the Serengeti as part of the world’s environmental heritage,” the World Bank country director for Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi, said.

Tanzania’s tourism earnings have gone up by 11.3 % in 2010 to $1.28 billion, with the Serengeti among Tanzania’s national parks attracting the biggest number of visitors on Tanzania safaris.

Jean Ankunda,

Africa Safari & Travel News.