African members of the UNWTO recently met in Mauritius to discuss how tourism sector can be a driver of development in the region and evaluate the opportunities across Africa.

The 66th meeting of the Regional Commission for Africa of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) was recently held in Mauritius, where UNWTO Member States joined representatives from international organisations and the private sector to focus on opportunities around tourism jobs and investments while also recognising the vital need to address challenges including the climate crisis.

According to a press statement by the UNWTO, the meeting adopted the UNWTO Agenda for Africa has been adapted. It encompasses a vision for African tourism that is also one of strong governance, more education and more and better jobs, says the UN body.

According to the latest UNWTO data, tourism across Africa is returning to strength following the unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic. It says that international arrivals across Africa were back to 88 pc of pre-pandemic levels at the end of the first quarter of this year. At the sub-regional level, North Africa is performing particularly strongly. Here, arrivals were actually 4 pc higher than the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 in the same period.

The UNWTO adds that globally international tourism receipts in Africa reached USD 1 billion in 2022, a 50 pc growth in real terms compared to 2021. Among African destinations with available data, Morocco and Mauritius notably exceeded their 2019 tourism receipts in the first quarter of 2023.

‘‘The UNWTO Agenda for Africa has been adapted. Our vision for African tourism is also one of strong governance, more education and more and better jobs. To achieve it, we aim to promote innovation, advocate for Brand Africa, facilitate travel, and unlock growth through investment and public-private partnerships,’’ says UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

The UNWTO says that delegations in Mauritius hailed from 33 countries and included 22 Ministers of Tourism, two Deputy Ministers and four Ambassadors to the meeting, the most important annual event for the region’s Member States.

Reflecting the high level of political support for the event, and for UNWTO’s mission to guide tourism development across Africa, the meeting welcomed the attendance of Prime Minister  of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism and Vice-Chair of the UNWTO Executive Council Steven Obeegadoo.

The UNWTO statement adds that also present were African Union Commissioner for Trade and Development Albert Muchanga, Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe and Secretary-General of the Commonweath Patricia Scotland.

Representatives from the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and from IFEMA and the TUI Foundation also attended the meeting, where the members were provided with an overview of UNWTO’s achievements over the past year, with a particular focus on core priorities for tourism in Africa.

In close collaboration with its Member States from across the region, UNWTO has also updated its Agenda for Africa – Tourism for Inclusive Growth. The revised roadmap reflects the new challenges of post-pandemic tourism and the priorities outlined by Members.

UNWTO says that it continues to lead tourism’s shift to greater sustainability, recognising the impact of extreme weather events, including the potential for heat waves to cut off the lifeline the sector offers for destinations worldwide. In Mauritius, Members were given an update of UNWTO’s work around sustainability, most notably its leadership of the ‘One Planet Tourism Network’ and the progress of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.