JOHANNESBURG—African countries are spending billions of dollars trying to penetrate the biggest outbound tourist market in the world but with limited success.
China is the continent’s largest single trade partner, but its citizens remain hesitant to explore a continent that’s often in the news for the wrong reasons, such as conflict, extremist attacks, and food shortages.
“It’s understandable that African nations want Chinese tourists because the [COVID-19] pandemic and its associated travel bans almost wiped out entire tourism industries—especially in African countries heavily reliant on the foreign exchange that tourists bring in and the money they spend in domestic markets,” said Mike Fabricius, a specialist in tourism management, consulting and marketing for his Johannesburg-based company, The Journey….