There is so much tourists can learn, and should know, about Africa before they leave home. Afro Tourism is an information hub and content provider based in Lagos, helping travellers uncover facts about the continent’s people, cultures, festivals and events and unravelling ‘off the beaten path’ attractions. Kelechi Ordu, Lead Marketing Representative at Afro Tourism, took some time to explain what the company is all about.
Q: What service does Afro Tourism provide?
A: We provide spot-on tourism information and link travellers to tour operators, airlines, hoteliers and other stakeholders, as well as guides to untapped destinations to make travel to and within Africa easy.
Q: You’ve coined the term ‘Afrotourist’. What does this mean?
A: ‘Afrotorist’ describes our community of African travel enthusiasts. An Afrotourist can be either a city local (Afrohost) who is willing to take a visitor (Afroguest), under his or her wing by hosting and personally showing off those unique things and off-the-beaten-path places of their city, or an Afroguest, who will in turn, hopefully reciprocate the gesture in his or her hometown.
Q: Are you focused only on leisure travel, or do you also play a role in the business travel space?
A: We are currently focused on leisure travel. but plan to expand into business tourism in the very near future.
Q: Do you feel that Africans, generally, appreciate the travel opportunities on their doorstep, or are more seduced by what lies abroad?
A: Africans are generally seduced by what lies abroad, often because of the cost of airfares and accommodation, sparse information on Africa, lack of local promotion and limited trip ideas. This is where Afro Tourism comes in. We provide information and trip ideas for Africa and its surrounding islands. We also partner with service providers (hotels and airlines) to create exclusive deals to encourage the African traveller.
Q: Which African countries are currently the most popular travel hotspots?
A: Traditionally North African countries like Morocco have been popular. In spite of challenges with security and political instability the region continues to adapt. In sub-Saharan Africa, southern and East Africa continue to dominate the travel and tourism industry, but recently trends show Senegal growing in popularity as a travel destination.
Q: What do these countries offer the traveller that other countries might not?
A: It’s a mixture of things really, ranging from the ease of securing visas into these countries to the focused marketing and PR efforts made by countries like South Africa to promote their countries as a brand. One thing is certain, top tourism countries have, over the years, been able to gain a reputation as global tourism destinations and other nations need to emulate these countries.
Q: What advice do you have for poorly-performing countries that want to improve their image and attract more travellers?
A: Use digital marketing! Tourism boards in a lot of these countries have a very weak digital presence. Countries experiencing success in their marketing efforts will testify that a solid digital marketing strategy is key to promoting travel and tourism in the 21st century.
Q: Does Africa generally have an image problem, due to issues such as terrorism, health (Ebola) concerns, visa challenges etc?
A: It’s easier to lose a reputation than to build one. Africa, without a doubt, has an image problem and a number of negative stereotypes have been attached to the continent for hundreds of years now. One stereotype that affects Africa is the idea that Africa is a single country. This is the reason that a medical epidemic in West Africa can affect tourism in Kenya 7,000 kilometres away.
Q: What impact did you see during the height of the Ebola epidemic, and has interest in Africa returned to what it was pre-Ebola?
A: At the height of the Ebola outbreak tourism all across sub-Saharan Africa definitely took a knock but amazingly, after the crises, international tourist numbers rose by 3% despite Ebola.
Q: Can you share one piece of advice with people wishing to travel into or around Africa?
A: Africa is not all about war, famine and corrupt leaders. It is an amazing and beautiful place filled with history, culture and great cuisine. We’ve had our issues but as any first-time visitor to the continent will tell you, Africa is not only what is portrayed in the movies.
Q: Which region – north, east, south, west or central – is growing the fastest?
A: It really all depends on how you look at it. Southern Africa continues to grow in the leisure tourism market, while West Africa has been experiencing fast growth in business tourism, and East Africa as a centre for global events, meetings and conferences.