The word “Africa” can conjure images of majestic landscapes teeming with awe-inspiring wildlife. Whether Kenya’s Maasai Mara or Namibia’s Etosha National Park or Tanzania’s Serengeti, Africa’s natural wonders in all their glorious diversity are so deeply entrenched in the global imagination that many of the visitors to the continent are fixated on nothing else.

Consequently, major metropolises are often relegated to the relatively insignificant role of a transit point to the next safari or game park. This skewed emphasis on natural attractions over urban centres may, in part, explain why the continent’s command of the international tourism industry, which accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s trade in services, stands at only seven per cent (according to World Export Development Forum (WEDF) 2014 session report, Plenary 4 — Tourism for Development: Opportunities for SME Trade.)

The importance of tourism to the economies of Africa is undeniable. At the 2014 WEDF in Kigali, Rwanda, an entire panel was devoted to discussing the role of the industry in development, especially with respect to opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises. 

The panel was unanimous in that tourism can translate into developmental gains for all segments of society, and do so in a sustainable manner if due emphasis is accorded to local value addition and quality standards.

However, although the discussion was multifaceted — touching on subjects ranging from opportunities in rural, eco and community tourism to obstacles such as environmental degradation, perception biases and community displacement — relatively little attention was paid to the scope for promoting urban tourism in Africa. 

One of the major obstacles impeding the topic of urban tourism from penetrating the heart of the discourse on tourism for development in Africa are the skewed narratives that one often encounters.

These have a tendency to paint African metropolises uniformly as unruly, insecure, and unattractive. Yet, such portrayals neglect to showcase the creativity, innovation and boundless energy that many of Africa’s fastest-growing cities are exhibiting at unprecedented rates.

In East Africa, the region I am most familiar with, Nairobi’s rowdy streets may have earned it the unflattering nickname of “Nairobbery,” and, yes, security is a challenge.

However, prospective tourists should also know that the city is brimming with music, food, architecture, concerts and exhibitions to suit an array of palates — not to mention the only national park that is a mere seven kilometres from the centre of a capital city.

Branding, yes, but investments too

Kigali, much smaller than its Kenyan counterpart, is arguably the cleanest and most secure city in the continent, of which every detail has been planned out meticulously. Unfortunately, associations with the 1994 genocide still endure. It is only by systematically counteracting these associations that Kigali can project itself as a major business tourism destination.

Urbanisation in Africa is undeniable, irreversible and accelerating. A recent UN-Habitat report says the global share of African urban residents is forecast to increase from 11.3 per cent in 2010 to 20.2 per cent by 2050. In fact, it has more than a quarter of the 100 fastest-growing cities.

This incredible transformation must be harnessed. Africa’s major metropolises should be able to enjoy the benefits that tourism accords — from job creation and income generation to cultural and knowledge exchanges. But to reorient international tourists towards paying closer attention to them, a multidimensional and integrated approach is necessary.

Outside Africa, there needs to be more of a systematic contestation of prevailing narratives concerning these cities in order to create room for coexisting realities. In this way, tourists will have all the information they require to make up their minds about a given destination. Inside it, Africans need to be their own ambassadors, as the WEDF panel so astutely pointed out, and regional tourism is essential for sustainability.

Branding aside, however, the long-term solution entails a combination of recognising existing assets, investing in fundamental infrastructure and critical supporting industries and continuing to encourage development of creative sectors, many of which are flourishing in several cities. Stakeholders have undoubtedly begun to recognise that the urban tourism potential of the continent has been under-exploited and the time is ripe to rectify this trend.

South Africa, a relatively mature tourism market compared with other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, has managed to showcase both its natural and urban attractions remarkably effectively despite having to contend with the dubious image of a high crime rate. If they can do it, why not others with comparable potential?

As African nations strengthen ties to the rest of the world, there are more opportunities for the global community to understand the full extent of what the continent has to offer.

A passing stranger managed to express to me the promise of Africa’s emerging and resurgent urban spaces many months ago both succinctly and poignantly.

To paraphrase, Paris will be Paris 15 years from now, but here, in this part of the world, change is continuous, profound, transformative and exhilaratingly experimental. It is this momentum and creativity that speaks to the core of what urban tourism in Africa could offer.

Aparupa Chakravarti is a social scientist. She is currently an associate at Avignam in Kigali. E-mail: [email protected]