Economic development in Africa: Tourism for transformative and inclusive growth

The Trade and Development Board

1. Welcomes the UNCTAD Economic Development in Africa Report 2017: Tourism for Transformative and Inclusive Growth, and notes that the report provides valuable information on the sector’s contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals;
    
2. Reiterates UNCTAD commitment to supporting Africa to address its special concerns and needs, in line with the Nairobi Maafikiano;
    
3. Takes note with appreciation of the finding of the report that tourism has a positive effect on Africa’s economic development, and also notes that tourism contributes to the achievement of many Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 1 on poverty reduction, Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth; it makes economic growth more inclusive through the generation of revenue for the rural poor and through the employment of a higher share of women and youth than in other sectors;
    
4. Takes note of the report’s finding on the relationship between tourism and peace, and underscores the need for policies that can strengthen complementarities between the tourism sector and other sectors of the economy;
    
5. Recognizes the potential role of intraregional tourism in enhancing regional integration efforts and processes while noting that intraregional tourism is growing strongly and can be a stronger driver of tourism growth in Africa;
    
6. Encourages all stakeholders to enhance management of environmental resources to reduce the environmental impact of tourism in Africa;
    
7. Urges UNCTAD, in partnership with other relevant organizations such as the World Tourism Organization, to continue assisting African countries in designing
   cross-sectoral programmes and strengthening capacities to unlock the potential of the tourism sector and trade in services;
    
8. Encourages development partners to continue supporting the efforts of African countries to sustain public investment in productive and infrastructure sectors so that they are able to achieve Africa’s development goals and meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030;
    
9. Acknowledges that, to reach ambitious objectives to double tourism’s contribution to Africa’s output as well as intraregional tourism levels by 2023 as set out at the continental level, Governments and regional organizations are encouraged to implement existing cross-cutting policies and adopt new ones;
    
10. Stresses the need for policies to address key constraints on the tourism sector’s growth including by promoting intraregional tourism and infrastructure investment, including training schemes, providing small business support services and improving access to credit for small firms.