Last year, African countries like South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Mauritius attracted the largest number of tourists, and their economies benefited greatly from the resultant spending.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation says South Africa, the most visited destination in Africa, recorded a growth in tourist numbers by over 10 per cent.

But the 2013 African Statistical Year Book released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) indicates that many other countries on the continent are at the bottom of the attraction ladder.

The data suggests a direct correlation between the number of visitors and the percentage of paved routes, linking good transport infrastructure to the number of tourists a country attracts.

The state of security and political stability are other factors affecting tourism numbers.

The Africa Review, using available data retrieved from various sources, compiled a list of African countries that barely get a look-in when tourists are planning their itineraries. South Sudan and Somalia are not featured due to a lack of reliable data.

1. Equatorial Guinea (6,000 visitors - World Bank)

Though a beautiful country, the low tourism volumes are due to a combination of factors, among them ignorance among potential visitors due to poor marketing, and poor infrastructure. Getting a tourist visa to the West African country is a bureaucratic nightmare, unless you are American. The industry is however growing, even if still underdeveloped.

What is there to see? Malabo’s striking colonial Spanish architecture, the Pico Malabo volcano, the Monte Alen National Park and Bata’s beautiful undeveloped beaches.

2. Sao Tome & Principe (11,000 visitors - AfDB)

The low volumes of visitors here are probably because very few travellers even know of the existence of the Portuguese-speaking island nation. But it has a high potential for tourism that has yet to be realised.

3. Comoros (21,000 visitors - AfDB)

Though a low figure, it is still an improvement from the 15,000 visitors recorded in 2010. Of the countries featured here, it probably has the highest potential to be a major tourist destination.

The three Comoros islands boast gorgeous turquoise beaches and beautiful scenery. But because they receives so few travellers, the islands are remote and almost untouched. They are also rich in Swahili-Arabian culture. Grande Comore Island has the largest active volcano in the world, Mt Karthala. About 77 per cent of the routes are paved, but few airlines fly to Comoros islands. The country is also poor, with its economy relying heavily on aid and remittances from the diaspora.

4. Mauritania (29,000 visitors in 2008 - Mauritania Tourism ministry)

While the country is not known for its tourism, the number of visitors has dipped after reports of kidnapping and the killing of a number of foreigners by Al Qaeda-linked militants in 2007. The killing of picnicking French tourists dealt a severe blow to the tourism sector and also led to the cancelling of the 2008 Paris-Dakar rally.

5. Guinea Bissau (30,000 visitors, 2010 – UN)

Not many tourists go to Guinea Bissau, and not for lack of something to see: The wildlife parks have rare birds and monkeys. It has remote white sandy beaches.
But protracted political turmoil has kept many visitors away, which also means that there are a lot of tourist attractions such as the Arquipélago Dos Bijagós left unexplored.

6. Djibouti (53,000 visitors, 2010- UN)

Most travellers to Djibouti are on their way to Ethiopia or Eritrea. One of the main attractions is the salt lake Lac Assal, which is the lowest point on land in Africa, and the third lowest depression on earth after the Red Sea and the Sea of Galilee.

7. Sierra Leone (54,000 visitors, 2012 - AfDB)

The country’s turbulent civil war history is probably to blame for its dismal numbers, with outsiders conversant with little else than conflict and diamonds. It has since the end of the civil war seen some recovery. Attractions include the numerous beaches and the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. But getting to them is difficult as only 9.9 per cent of the routes are paved.

8. Central African Republic (57,000 visitors, 2012 - AfDB)

The country has very little infrastructure to support tourism; only about 20.3 per cent of the routes are paved. Political instability and a long history of coups have significantly contributed to this. The country however has breathtaking rainforests as well as elephants and gorillas in the Dzanga-Sangha National Park.
Poachers are taking advantage of the prevailing insecurity since the overthrow of president Francois Bozize to decimate the elephant population.

9. Niger (82,000 visitors, 2012 - AfDB)

The West African state is located on the edge of the Sahara desert, one of the country’s main tourist attractions. The Gerewol male beauty dance of the nomadic Wodaabe is something African dance aficionados would appreciate. Fears of Al Qaeda activity and the frequent kidnapping of foreigners are some of the reasons tourism numbers in the country have remained low. Also, it is also generally poorly marketed as a tourist destination.

10. Democratic Republic of Congo (91,000 visitors, 2012 - AfDB)

The number of tourists arriving to DR Congo fell from 186,000 in 2011 to 91,000 in 2012, in part due to the instability in the east of the country. Tourist attractions there include its diverse habitat, wildlife (especially the mountain gorillas, which are cheaper to see than in neighbouring Rwanda) in the well-known but threatened Virunga National Park, and the erupting volcanic mountains.

11. Congo Republic (92,000 visitors, 2012 - AfDB)

The Republic of Congo is known for its lowland gorillas and mountain chimpanzees. It also has a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Sanga Trinational, which is a potential attraction for tourists. The country, however, remains unattractive to tourists, as there is little infrastructure to support the sector. Only 1.8 per cent of the routes are paved, according to data from the AfDB.

12. Chad (101,000 visitors, 2012 - African Statistical Yearbook)

The Central African country is the fourth largest in Africa and is largely semi-desert. Its low tourist numbers have a lot to do with a history of political instability and violence resulting from differences between the mostly Muslim Arab north and the mainly Christian south. Tensions from neighbouring countries such as Sudan sometimes spill over the border between the two countries.