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Prosper Ndlovu

The tourism sector in Africa has been shown to be more resilient despite the current economic shocks on the continent with more growth opportunities especially in the hotel segment, leading the hotel industry with PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC) Southern Africa, Pietro Calicchio,

Given the rich and diverse natural heritage of the continent, tourism is increasingly seen as a fruit at hand for Africa, with a potential for growth. positive impact on developing economies.

Highlights from PwC's latest report on the hotel sector in Africa last week indicate that the continent is well positioned for positive growth despite persistent macroeconomic hurdles across the demarcation line. The eighth edition of PwC's Hotel Outlook: 2018-2022 includes information on accommodation in South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania

. Africa's continent has shown resilience to economic and political uncertainties, the impacts of droughts and other regulatory changes, "explains Calicchio." There are many opportunities for this industry to continue to grow at a faster rate. modest. "

The report points out, published by the PwC consulting firm, that hotel room receipts for the five target markets increase at a compound annual rate of 7.4% to 50.5 billion rand in 2022 against 35.2 billion rand in 2017. During the period, receipts from South African hotel rooms are expected to increase to 21.8 billion rand, an increase of 5, 6%, compounded annually of R16.6 billion s in 2017. The trend, according to the report, shows that the hotel sector in Africa has the potential to continue growing over the next five years. The report predicts that Nigeria will be the fastest growing country in the next five years with a number of new hotels scheduled to open during the period. PwC sees Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius as the next fastest growing destinations after Nigeria, with annual increases of 9.6%, 9.1% and 7.2%, respectively. South Africa is expected to be the slowest growing market, with a compound annual increase of 5.6% in room revenue. According to PwC, an increase in the number of foreign and domestic travelers, as well as an increase in the number of hotel chains on the continent should reinforce the untapped potential of the hotel sector in terms of business growth. As the hotel and tourism sectors in each country show signs of continued growth over the forecast period, PwC suggests that tourism remains an important part of every economy. Calicchio, however, notes that a number of challenges continue to be faced by each country as the tourism industry tends to be responsive to slight changes in policy, regulatory, security and sustainability issues.

"The slightest change or disruption can have an impact on the future growth of each market, so it is important that investors, hoteliers, tourism organizations and governments continue to work together to develop this important industry and ensure its sustainability. so that all stakeholders get the most benefit, "adds Calicchio.

The hotel rooms in South Africa, for example, are similar to the 2017 forecast with 2,900 additional rooms to be added The report also predicts that occupancy rates for the first destination in Southern Africa will continue to increase over the forecast period and reach 62.5% in 2022. While international travel in Africa countries continue to grow with an overall increase of 2.4%, PwC said the outlook for 2018 remains positive, is at lower percentages than in 2016. The report predicts that the number of foreign visitors and domestic tourism will increase by 5.3% in 2018, while the total number of travelers is expected to reach 19.5 million in 2022 , an annual increase of 4% from 16 million in 2017.

"There is also a debate on easing visa requirements for international visitors, which could have an impact on our growth forecast" . The report shows that visitors from China to South Africa fell by 17% in 2017 while those from India rose a modest 2.7%. The UK remains the largest source of non-African visitors to South Africa with 447,901 in 2017, contributing to overall visitor growth of 7.2% in 2017, according to PwC. Among African visitors, the largest number came from Zimbabwe (2 million), followed by Lesotho (1.8 million) and Mozambique (1.3 million). The South African tourism industry feeds on favorable fundamentals that seem to make it more competitive compared to its regional neighbors.

PwC reports that a number of four-star hotels have been opened in Africa in 2017, resulting in a 1.8% increase in rooms, the first increase since 2013. Hotels planned for the next few years will be four-star hotels, which will result in an expected annual increase of 2.4% of the four-star rooms available over the next five years. According to the report, the hospitality markets in Nigeria and Mauritius performed well in 2017 after double-digit growth while Kenya and Tanzania saw their revenues decline

For the full the period, the number of rooms available in Nigeria is expected to increase from 9,700 in 2017 to 12,600 in 2022, representing a cumulative annual increase of 5.4%, the largest expansion ever recorded in the report. Meanwhile, the hotel room business figure in Mauritius grew by 12.7% in 2017 and the country continues to experience a growth in the number of foreign visitors. On one side, Kenya experienced a drop in visitors after the national elections of August 2017, but the recovery was already observed in December with an increase in the number of visitors, which resulted in overall growth 9.9%. However, PwC estimates that this has not been enough to increase overall room revenue, which fell by 13.5% in 2017. The report says tourism in Kenya is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 6, 9%, rising to 2.06 million in 2022 from 1.47 million in 2017.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational professional services network headquartered in London, United Kingdom, which is the largest in the world. one of the largest service firms in the world. It is present in 34 countries of Africa with a presence in the offices of 66 offices. With a single management team in Africa and over 400 partners and 9,000 professionals across Africa, the company serves some of the continent's largest companies in all industries.