Tourism for Development

The global tourism standstill due to COVID-19 has cost the sector dearly, especially in countries heavily reliant on it, like small island nations. A new UN report maps how tourism could be rebuilt.

Written by By Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD

Written by Isabelle Durant, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General

Four out of 10 international tourists in Africa come from the continent itself, according to the new UNCTAD Economic Development in Africa Report 2017: Tourism for Transformative and Inclusive Growth. In sub-Saharan Africa, this number increases to two out of every three tourists whose travels originate on the continent. Data backing this key finding show that, contrary to perception, Africans themselves are increasingly driving tourism demand in Africa.

​Linking organic agriculture and tourism has a significant potential to help reduce poverty in the United Republic of Tanzania, a new UNCTAD report has found.