The tourism sector’s direct contribution to the African economy in 2017 reached $72.8 billion and is expected to reach $90.6 billion by the end of 2018, according to Egyptian Tourism Minister Rania al-Mashat. The tourism sector’s direct contribution to job creation reached 9.3 million jobs in 2017 and is expected to reach 9.6 million jobs by the end of 2018, Mashat said. The sector’s contribution to total employment was 313 million in 2017 and is expected to reach 323 million by the end of 2018, she added. “According to World Development Indicators 2018 of the World Bank, the proportion of incoming tourism to the African continent increased by 100 percent between 2000 and 2016, while tourism spending increased by 150 percent in the same period,” Mashat said. The minister stressed the importance of cooperation between African countries to attract more tourism investments and increase the number of incoming and outgoing tourism.

Source: Egypt Independent December 11, 2018 12:11 UTC