Africa’s next great traveller is already at the departure gate

For decades, Africa’s tourism industry has been preoccupied with bringing the world to its shores. A landmark Skift study commissioned by Millat Group suggests that the continent’s next great tourism opportunity may lie in the opposite direction: the African traveller going out.

For as long as the African tourism industry has been discussing its prospects, the conversation has largely revolved around one question: how do we get more international visitors to come to Africa?

How do we persuade more Europeans to experience our beaches, more Americans to explore our wildlife and heritage, and more Asians to discover the continent's extraordinary cultural and natural attractions?

It is an understandable preoccupation. Africa accounts for approximately 19% of the world's population but attracts only about 5% of international tourist arrivals. The continent has long been viewed as a destination waiting to be discovered, marketed and developed.

But what if the industry's next great opportunity is not necessarily about who is coming to Africa, but who is leaving it?

That is the provocative proposition advanced by Africa in Motion: The Next Great Traveller, a new white paper produced by global travel intelligence company Skift and commissioned by Millat Group. Unveiled around World Travel Market London, the study attempts to quantify a market that has received remarkably little attention in the global tourism conversation: Africa's outbound traveller.

Its findings suggest that a significant shift is already under way, one that could reshape the continent's relationship with global tourism over the next two decades.

Across five focus markets - Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa - outbound international trips are projected to increase from 13.3 million in 2025 to 19.4 million by 2035. More immediately, outbound travel expenditure across these markets is forecast to rise from US$18.9 billion in 2025 to US$30.4 billion by 2030, representing growth of approximately 61%.

These are not insignificant numbers. They point to the emergence of a new generation of African consumers whose aspirations, incomes, family connections and business interests increasingly extend beyond national and continental borders.

As Hamza Farooqui, founder and chief executive of Millat Group, observes, the traditional emphasis on bringing tourists to Africa tells only half the story. The African traveller going out deserves equal attention.

Perhaps the most revealing finding in the research is the distinction between the number of people travelling and the money they spend.

Nigeria provides the clearest illustration. It ranks seventh among the eight African markets examined for outbound departures but first in total outbound expenditure, recording an estimated US$7.7 billion in 2025.

That is approximately 41% more than South Africa, despite South Africa generating roughly five times as many outbound trips. The explanation lies in the profile of the Nigerian traveller. Demand is concentrated among relatively affluent consumers in Lagos and Abuja, with international travel driven substantially by business, high-end leisure and connections with family and friends abroad.

The report estimates that diaspora-connected travel accounts for between 22% and 26% of outbound trips across the markets studied but generates between 40% 45% of expenditure. This segment is inferred from travel patterns and remittance corridors rather than directly measured through a dedicated survey, but its commercial significance is considerable.

These are travellers visiting relatives, attending weddings and funerals, participating in family events and fulfilling educational and business commitments. Their journeys often last two to four weeks and are less dependent on promotional airfares than conventional leisure travel.

For Ghana, this should be an especially interesting finding.The study identifies Ghana, alongside Nigeria and Zimbabwe, as a leading market for its Diaspora Connector segment. The Lagos-Accra corridor is also among the continent's busiest intra-African air routes.

Ghana's connections with its diaspora in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe and elsewhere provide an established foundation for this market. December travel, family reunions, festivals, weddings and heritage visits are already familiar features of the country's tourism calendar.

The opportunity is to move beyond treating these journeys as occasional seasonal traffic and develop products and services around a year-round market.

Airlines, hotels, travel management companies, tour operators and destination businesses could all benefit from understanding the needs of this traveller more deliberately.

There is another important dimension to the report: the movement of Africans within Africa.

Approximately 40% of international arrivals on the continent are generated by travellers from other African countries. At several destinations examined in the study, regional visitors account for more than half of international arrivals.

This is an important reminder that African tourism is not sustained exclusively by visitors arriving from distant markets. Regional travellers provide a significant occupancy base for hotels, support restaurants and entertainment businesses, and sustain demand across the continent's travel ecosystem.

The problem is that the infrastructure to serve this market remains inadequate.

Only around 19% of intra-African routes have direct flights, while just seven of Africa's 54 countries offer direct air connections to more than 20 other African nations.

The consequences are familiar to anyone who has attempted to travel between neighbouring African countries. Journeys that should be relatively straightforward can involve connections through European or Middle Eastern hubs, adding time and cost.

The Abidjan-Lagos coastal corridor alone carries an estimated 47 million people annually, much of that movement taking place by road.

The Single African Air Transport Market offers a potential solution. Full implementation is modelled to increase GDP by US$4.2 billion, create approximately 600,000 jobs and reduce airfares by 27%.

But political commitments must translate into actual route liberalisation, greater competition and more affordable air travel.

There is little value in promoting regional tourism while maintaining policies that make it difficult for Africans to visit neighbouring countries.

Hamza Farooqui, CEO, The Millat Group says these imbalances require a coordinated response from governments, airlines, hotel operators and investors.

“We cannot keep talking about Africa's tourism potential while making it difficult and expensive for Africans to travel across their own continent.

"We need better connections between our cities, more accessible capital and accommodation that reflects how people actually travel. And we need to develop African businesses and operating expertise, not simply rely on international brands to deliver that growth."

One of the more fascinating aspects of the study is its examination of the growing relationship between African travellers and the Gulf.

Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi have become much more than destinations. They are increasingly important interchange points connecting African passengers to Europe, Asia and North America.

Approximately 28% of South Africa's connecting traffic to Europe passes through Gulf hubs. The report also identifies substantial air capacity linking Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Nairobi with major Gulf cities. The Gulf's advantage is not simply its airlines or airports. It is also its willingness to make itself accessible.

Visa policies, connectivity, hospitality infrastructure, cultural considerations and the development of products suited to African travellers have all contributed to its growing appeal.

Türkiye provides another useful example. Its visa arrangements for certain African nationalities, combined with cultural and hospitality offerings, have helped it become a more attractive destination than traditional Western markets for some African travellers.

The lesson is straightforward: destinations that make travelling easier stand to benefit from demand that might otherwise go elsewhere.

The implications extend beyond aviation and destination marketing to the hospitality investment landscape.

Africa currently has 123,846 branded hotel rooms in its development pipeline, spread across 675 properties. Yet the report identifies a striking mismatch between the accommodation being developed and the market expected to drive much of the continent's growth.

Only 14 of the 168 hotel brands with signed development deals are positioned in the economy or midscale categories.

Meanwhile, the study identifies the US$150 to US$400-a-night segment as an underserved opportunity. This is particularly relevant to younger, urban, aspirational and regionally mobile travellers who want quality, convenience and distinctive experiences without necessarily paying luxury hotel rates.

There is a danger that the industry could continue investing heavily in the top end of the market while overlooking the much larger opportunity developing in the middle.

For investors, this is an important distinction. The next phase of African tourism growth will require not just more hotel rooms, but the right rooms in the right locations at prices that match the emerging consumer.

There are, of course, significant obstacles. African passengers departing from the continent face some of the world's highest aviation taxes and charges. The average international departure attracts approximately US$68 in taxes and charges, compared with US$32 in Europe. In West Africa, the average rises to US$109.50.

Airline profitability is another constraint. African carriers generated an estimated US$0.90 profit per passenger in 2024, compared with US$15.20 for Middle Eastern carriers. Expanding connectivity will therefore require a more commercially sustainable aviation environment.

For Ghana and the wider West African tourism industry, the message is particularly relevant. The region has a substantial diaspora market, strong cultural connections, significant business travel potential and considerable intra-African movement. Yet high travel costs and inadequate direct connectivity continue to limit its potential.

The broader lesson from Africa in Motion is that tourism policy, marketing and investment must evolve alongside the traveller.

For decades, the industry has organised itself around the ambition of moving the world into Africa. That ambition remains important. But a growing African population with increasing purchasing power, international connections and global aspirations is creating another market that cannot be ignored.

The next generation of African travellers is not waiting to be discovered. They are already travelling, spending and making choices about where their money goes.

The question is whether Africa's airlines, hotels, investors and tourism authorities will recognise the opportunity quickly enough to build for them.

As the report aptly concludes, the question is no longer whether these travellers exist. It is who builds for them first.

https://millatglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Millat_Skift-White-Paper-Africa-in-Motion.pdf

The Author: Francis Doku is the founder and CEO of Maestro Africa Group, Publisher and Managing Editor of Africa Meets Magazine, and Executive Producer and Host of the Africa Rising Podcast. He also serves as West Africa Regional Director of Africa Tourism Partners and is a Consulting Editor and contributor to VoyagesAfriq. Doku writes on tourism, culture, international relations and Africa’s evolving engagement with the world.