The report focuses on a range of structural issues affecting the sector, including aviation access, AI-driven distribution, sustainability compliance, inclusion and workforce development.
According to the report, Africa welcomed 81 million international visitors in 2025, representing 8% growth and the fastest regional increase globally. Over the same period, aviation capacity rose by 13.7% to 182.4 million departure seats.
The findings also point to uneven development across the continent. While Eastern Africa recorded aviation growth of 24.3%, Central and Western Africa registered no growth. The report also states that fewer than 5% of African hospitality properties currently hold third-party sustainability certification, despite the EU’s greenwashing ban coming into effect in September 2026.
Another trend highlighted in the report concerns traveller behaviour and technology adoption. According to the research, 72% of Gen Z travellers now use artificial intelligence to plan travel, creating additional pressure on operators to ensure their inventory is machine-readable and visible in digital planning environments.
“This report explores current themes and trends,” said Olivia Gradidge, Marketing Manager, WTM Africa & ILTM Africa. “Including trust, AI and travel tech, traveller psychology, sustainability and authenticity.”
The report was commissioned to Big Ambitions, the content, communications and marketing agency of RX Africa, and includes contributions from more than 25 industry leaders, academics and practitioners from across the continent.
Among those contributing are environmental expert Dr Louise de Waal, Director of the Blood Lions campaign to end commercial captive lion breeding and canned hunting, Judy Kepher Gona, Founder and Executive Director at Sustainable Travel and Tourism Agenda, and Luckson Zambuko, Founder of the African Youth in Tourism and Hospitality Association.
“What struck us most when compiling this report was not the scale of the opportunity – that has always been evident – but the specificity of what is now required to capture it,” said Dorine Reinstein, Content Director, Big Ambitions. “The operators and destinations that are winning in 2026 are not the ones with the best product, but the ones with the best proof. Proof of access, proof of trust, proof of sustainability, proof of welcome. That shift– from aspiration to verification – is the defining commercial reality this report addresses.”
The full report, which also includes a ten-point manifesto for African tourism stakeholders, was introduced by Carol Weaving, Managing Director of RX Africa, through a video shown during the opening ceremony of WTM Africa on Monday, 13 April.
The report was also supported by a panel discussion on the Future Stage on Wednesday, 15 April. Sponsored by LIFT and moderated by Dorine Reinstein, the panel featured David Frost, CEO of SATSA, Judy Kepher Gona, Director of Sustainable Travel & Tourism Africa, Kwakye Donkor, CEO of Africa Tourism Partners, Liesel van Zyl, Head of Positive Impact and Product Development at Go2Africa, and Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director-General for Economic Operations at the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
Tags: Olivia Gradidge, WTM Africa ILTM Africa