Tourism expert predicts boom in sub-Saharan Africa   Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Lorig Yekhpairian, vice president for travel industry relations of the American Express, said turnover from tourism is expected to almost double in sub- Saharan Africa over the next decade. Yekhpairian made the statement when she addressed delegates at the 26th International Congress of the Africa Travel Association, which opened in Cape Town Monday. More than 400 delegates are attending the five-day meet organised by the Africa Travel Association (ATA), an international non-profit travel industry association with a view to promoting tourism in Africa. South Africa's Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa opened the congress, which is being attended by several African transport and tourism ministers. Moosa said there had been an enormous growth in South Africa's tourism industry since the country's first democratic elections in 1994 and that for every eight visitors to the country, one job was created. Yekhpairian said the African travel and tourism industry has untapped potential and was expected to become a major source of growth in Africa. She predicted that the industry would grow from 8.3 percent of GDP in 2001 to about 9.3 percent in 2011, and would create over 7.6 million new jobs throughout Africa. World Tourism Organisation (WTO) estimates that sub-Saharan Africa's total GDP related to travel and tourism, will grow from 22 billion US dollars in nominal terms to about 42 billion US dollars in 2011.   Cape Town - 22/05/2001

Your Feedback

Subscribe | Contact Us | Webmaster | Copyright Notice