The uniqueness of Africa as a tourist destination lies in its wide range of attractions, its diversity and its multitude of landscapes, as well as its rich cultural heritage. In addition, some African countries have an eco-tourism industry (such as South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique, etc.). Generally, travelers visit Africa to embark on a wildlife safari or climb Kilimanjaro. However, there are many more reasons to visit Africa than just wildlife and mountains.
Tourists come to the continent to observe wildlife and bask in the sunshine. Africa is the world's number one destination for safaris, from the most exotic to the simplest. Welcome to beautiful South Africa, where you can truly have it all. Here are our top 10 reasons to visit South Africa, often referred to as “a world in one country”. For a family safari in Africa, we recommend visiting Pilanesberg, Madikwe or one of the reserves in the Eastern Cape - all of which are malaria-free and offer stunning views of wildlife.
For endless fun, try Sun City - a holiday resort that even has a sandy “beach” and an “ocean” built in the middle of the jungle, less than 2 hours' drive from Johannesburg. How far back do you want to go when you visit South Africa? We have the Cradle of Humankind - where the 2.3 million-year-old fossil nicknamed Mrs. Ples was found, along with many other hominid fossils (and some of the oldest).This article examines the current state of tourism in and within Africa, and highlights the key issues and problems facing the industry across the continent. The issues have implications for human resources in that country, in terms of attracting quality personnel to meet increasingly globalized service standards.
The following paragraphs take a more balanced view, explore these issues within a broader framework of the international tourism economy, relate this synthesis to African tourism perspectives and assess the development potential of international tourism in Africa if it is to compete successfully in the global tourism market. The above trend patterns form the basis for this analysis since they are an essential and influential parameter for analyzing African perspectives which elicit these reflections. Firstly, the statistics illustrate the nature and scope of international tourism in Africa and its importance in some countries - which is clearly influenced by broader economic development patterns. Secondly, there are significant variations in the scale of tourism development in Africa compared to those at the top (i.e. Developed) on the theoretical development continuum up to Johnny Come-lately (i.e.As we have seen, some countries on the continent - such as Kenya in East Africa; Mauritius and Seychelles in Indian Ocean; Morocco and Tunisia in North; South Africa and Zimbabwe in South; Ghana and Senegal in West - are “successful” well-established tourist destinations.
Other countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Eritrea and Sierra Leone have limited tourism development due to various reasons but still have considerable potential. A problem in one country can benefit another since many tourists do not cancel their holidays but instead replace a destination perceived as “dangerous” with a “safe” one. However if a region is considered to be politically unstable or threatening in any way tourists will tend to avoid it. In the long term this explains why regions such as Africa South Asia and Middle East have only received a small proportion of international tourist arrivals. In most countries in developing regions including Africa there is usually no shortage of people available to work but there is a problem with levels of skills available (Jenkins 1999). Unlike funding that can be borrowed human resource development is an ongoing process and its orientation and approach must be related to country's development objectives.
Part of this objective could be general for example increasing proportion of literate people in country. In other cases human resource development may be related to needs of particular sector such as tourism (introduction hotel and restaurant schools) tourism industry training for employment in tourism operations and travel agencies. This is a difficult area and it is always recommended to have specific human resource development plan for tourism sector because wide range social and other skills that are required. Looking ahead there are number factors that will support Africa's international tourism development.
It is now generally accepted that prerequisites for tourism development are attractions accommodation and access. Without natural attractions (climate landscapes coast mountains) or artificial (historic sites theme parks festivals) tourism cannot develop. A combination these attractions usually puts destinations on tourist map. Las Vegas is quintessential man-made destination and Egypt is example country that has benefited from its history and culture.
When on site tourists need support services especially accommodation. Even if both are available there must be good access to destination. Nowadays many international tourists are described as “cash-rich short on time”. Direct access to destination by road or air is important development factor as it saves time when traveling on indirect routes.
In Africa there are many high-quality natural artificial attractions high standards accommodation infrastructure good transport network; basic elements for tourism development already established being added improved all time. Many countries region (including Africa) now entering international markets offer wider range destination options for tourists. Competition will ensure that standards value money eventually determine which countries successful.
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