Sports tourism is emerging as a real game changer for Africa with two of the continent’s leading tourism destinations — Egypt and Morocco — banking on the tourism inflows from major sporting events to compete for the coveted title of Africa’s most-visited tourist hub.
Conrad Onyango, bird story agency
As tourism hubs across Africa post record-breaking tourism arrival numbers, two North African countries – Egypt and Morocco – are locked in a battle for the accolade of most-popular African tourism destination.
Latest data shows that Morocco has already taken over as the most-visited country, recording 17.4 million international tourists who visited the country in 2024, 20% more than the 2023 numbers, according to UN Tourism data released in January 2025.
Egyptian Cabinet data shows that country received a record high of 15.7 million tourists in 2024, with Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, saying the country could hit 18 million arrivals by the end of 2025.
The two countries are banking on their key strengths – sports tourism and cultural heritage – to bolster their numbers.
Egypt is looking to take advantage of the anticipated official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum later this year as well as a just-concluded Sports Expo 2025, which promotes the role of sports as an economic and development tool, to boost numbers.
“The “Sports Expo 2025” is expected to attract thousands of visitors, including prominent global sports personalities, hundreds of sports companies, and dozens of global clubs, making it one of the most anticipated sporting events, a step towards achieving Egypt’s vision of becoming a global hub for the sports industry and sports investment,” a statement from the Egyptian Cabinet said.
Speaking durring the event’s inauguration, Madbouly said the country was comprehensively developing sports facilities and infrastructure together with other infrastructure to ensure that Egypt has the necessary capabilities to host major world championships across a variety of sports.
Morocco, for its part, is betting on hosting the 2025 African Cup of Nations and co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup as ways of improving the Kingdom’s tourism appeal.
Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, Social and Solidarity Economy said there were plenty of other reasons why visitors might want to explore the country.
“The Kingdom of Morocco’s political stability, its competitive edge, the openness of its economy, the view on innovation and its forward-thinking investment policies collectively positions the country as a privileged destination for both national and international investors,” Ammor said.
While most tourists to Morocco and Egypt come from outside Africa, it’s different for Kenya and South Africa, which both record higher intra-Africa traffic.
The latest international arrivals data from Statistics South Africa shows total arrivals reached 8.92 million in 2024, marking a 5.1% increase compared to 2023.
Africa continues to drive the majority of arrivals, with 76% of total arrivals in South Africa coming from the rest of the continent.
Those numbers are supported by arrivals from Zimbabwe, which continues to be the country’s top source market.
Ghana experienced the largest percentage increase in tourist arrivals in 2024, with growth of 149.0% over 2023. This surge was largely attributed to the availability of an airlift program and the introduction of a visa waiver in November 2023.
“Ghana’s immense performance can be attributed to the fact that travelers between Ghana and South Africa no longer need visas to travel between the two countries. This, coupled with increased airlift targeted marketing initiatives by South African Tourism, makes for a winning formula for the growth of our sector,” said South African Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille.
Kenya saw a significant increase in international tourist arrivals in 2024, welcoming 2,394,376 visitors. This represents a 14.6% rise over 2023.
The United States led as the largest source market for Kenya, accounting for 12.8% of total arrivals, while arrivals from Tanzania had the largest increase, going from 161,157 in 2023 to 203,290 in 2024.
The second most -mproved source market was China, with 90,462 visitors in 2024, while in overall terms, the US, Uganda and Tanzania were Kenya’s largest source markets.
Key factors driving these increased arrival numbers across the markets include aggressive marketing campaigns, the introduction of new airline routes, and the deployment of larger aircraft by carriers.
“Our vision is to elevate Kenya’s tourism sector to new heights by capitalizing on emerging opportunities and addressing existing challenges. Strengthening our presence in key international markets, enhancing service delivery, and promoting sustainable tourism practices will be pivotal to achieving this goal,” said Kenya’s Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Rebecca Miano, in the report.
The growth in tourist arrivals is expected to continue throughout the year, as indicated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) data on global passenger demand for 2025.
IATA ranks Africa (14.9%) as the region where airlines experienced the second-strongest passenger demand after Asia (21.8%) over the last year to January 2025.
bird story agency
