African tourist operators are in damage control following the wave of recent terrorist attacks on the continent. The sector is already struggling to recover from past terrorist attacks and last year’s Ebola outbreak, which severely damaged Africa’s international tourism brand.
Mali, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Tunisia have all come under siege from Islamic extremist attacks this year. Tunisia alone, has seen a drop of one million tourists this year. For almost all these countries tourism is a large contributor to GDP and a significant youth employer. African countries are grappling with youth unemployment, as high as 50% in some regions.
The crisis comes as West African countries are still trying to recover from last year’s Ebola outbreak. The disease claimed more than 10 000 lives and left the continent’s reputation in tatters.
Terrorism and health risks are not isolated to Africa but the continent takes a longer time to recover than other parts of the world. While there’s been no attack in South Africa, experts have warned the country is at risk. In September the US issued a warning of an imminent attack in the country.
Security ministers in South Africa say there’s no real need to panic. But people within the tourism industry say that it’s become even tougher to convince people that there’s no real threat.
