Paul Mwijagye

KAMPALA, UGANDA -The first six months of 2010 saw tourist arrivals in Sub Saharan Africa grow by 16% compared to the first half of 2008 when the recession had threatened the sector, according to the August Interim Update of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), World Tourism Barometer.

On the other hand tourist arrivals in North Africa grew by 12%. Africa was the only region to grow in 2009 by 7% and it maintained this momentum during the first half of 2010. Overall international tourist arrivals grew by 7% with Asia leading the growth.

Many destinations are setting new records, leaving behind the losses of 2009 and exceeding the 2008 levels. Compared to the first half of 2008, six sub-regions show growth: Sub-Saharan Africa (16%), North Africa (12%), North-East Asia (7%), South Asia (7%), South-East Asia (5%) and South America (4%).

International tourist arrivals totalled 421 million during the first six months of 2010, up 7% compared to 2009, but still 2% below that of the record year of 2008 (428 million arrivals in the same period).

These results follow one of the toughest years for the tourism sector with international tourist arrivals declining by 4.2% in 2009 to 880 million and international tourism receipts reaching US$ 852 billion, a decrease in real terms of 5.7%. However experts say the return of growth must be viewed with caution given that it compares with a very weak period of 2009.

While growth was modest in April as a consequence of the closure of European airspace following the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, results were strong in May with a growth of 10% and June (8%). Data available for July indicates that growth is set to continue at a steady rate.

Growth was positive in all world regions, led by a robust performance of emerging economies expanding at 8% compared to 6% in advanced economies.

Asia and the Pacific that grew by 14% and the Middle East (20%), where results were already positive in the second half of 2009, continue to lead growth in the first half of 2010 with the majority of destinations in both regions posting double digit growth rates.