North African countries are giving Kenya a rough run as the continent’s top travel destination

August 17, 2017 5:35 PM

Intra-Africa travel has also been on the up, increasing by almost 13%.

Decades after the Arab Spring protests, security concerns have slowed down travels to key North African countries.

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However, an analysis of seat capacity for travel to the top ten international airports in Africa shows significant growth in flight arrivals to the continent with North Africa accounting for much of the growth.

Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco recorded over 20% increase in international arrivals in the first half of 2017.

Chinese travellers made massive trips to Morocco and Tunisia in particular. This brought a huge boost (450% and 250% increase in arrivals respectively) to their arrival figures after both countries relaxed visa restrictions for Chinese nationals.

According to a travel industry research firm ForwardKeys, it is unlikely to see the pace of growth slow down soon.

Overall, Asia Pacific has accounted for the highest increase in international arrivals despite making up only 8% of the market. Intra-Africa travel has also been on the up, increasing by almost 13%.