Continent of attractions

The spectacles are there: wildlife migration, exotic culture, vast prairies and cascading waterfalls. Now, there are more spectators as favorable policies put the sites in sight for Chinese travelers.

"From the tourist bookings at the moment, the demand for African destinations is showing remarkable growth, with overall bookings for Africa increasing by approximately 30 to 35 percent year-on-year," says Xu Ning, product manager for African operations at a Beijing-based travel agency, Utour.

"The summer and the upcoming September-October period coincide with the best time to view the great animal migration in Africa, making it the prime season for African travel," Xu adds.

In recent years, with the increase in direct flights between China and Africa and the relaxation of visa policies, the potential of Chinese tourism to Africa has been unleashed, leading to deeper cooperation between the two in the tourism sector.

According to the data from the major intelligent travel platform Flight Master, as of May, the overall recovery rate of flights between China and Africa had reached 130.6 percent, compared to the same period of the pre-pandemic level.

Among these, Egypt's recovery rate stood at 241.7 percent, Kenya's at 150 percent, and both South Africa and Algeria achieved 100 percent.

Since last year, Zambia has proceeded to ease visa restrictions, allowing visitors from China to enter the country visa-free.

Angola announced last year a unilateral visa-free entry policy for citizens of 98 countries and regions, including China. Since January this year, the Kenyan government has implemented a visa-free policy for global tourists, allowing them to enter without applying for a visa, requiring only a travel permit via an electronic platform.

Last year, the Nigerian government established a tourism organ to better promote the country's rich cultural heritage and tourist attractions.

"Chinese travelers' footprints have been expanding in Africa, covering more destinations and with more in-depth and diversified travel experiences," Xu says.

In addition to traditional destinations like South Africa, Kenya and Egypt, an increasing number of Chinese travelers have made inroads into southern African countries, such as Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, as well as African islands like Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius, he adds.

Particularly, bookings to southern Africa and Morocco in the continent's northwest have seen substantial increases, with year-on-year growth rates of 400 percent and 550 percent, respectively, Utour reports.

As for travel experiences, the length of tours to African destinations is on the rise, from the original eight to 10 days, to 14 to 18 days, allowing for a deeper exploration of what the continent has to offer, including various national parks, wild camps, yacht and desert trips, according to booking data from Utour.

"With the growing demand, new travel experiences in Africa are emerging, such as long cruises and island vacations," Xu says.

Bookings for African island and cruise experiences have doubled so far this year.

During the May Day holiday from May 1 to 5, Africa was one of the most popular destinations abroad for Chinese travelers.

Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and Mauritius are popular country destinations, according to Chinese travel platform Mafengwo.

Although the Great Migration (involving more than 1 million wildebeests and zebras) didn't start in May, many travelers still chose to visit African destinations, such as Kenya, to immerse themselves in the natural environment, observes Kai Wen, who runs an African tours operation in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Their favorite activities included riding in cross-country vehicles across the savannah, where they can observe elephants, rhinos, lions and giraffes, Kai says.

The pyramids, the Sphinx, and Luxor Temple are among the most alluring ancient sites that have drawn many Chinese tourists to Egypt, says Wang Peizhong, who runs a travel agency in Egypt.

Customers value individual choices and flexibility in tour services, notes Wang, whose business offers tailored itineraries, airport pick-ups and drop-offs, Chinese-speaking guides, and Chinese cuisine.

According to Statistics South Africa, the number of international tourists arriving in South Africa saw a significant surge last year, with the total number of Chinese tourists reaching 37,000, representing a year-on-year increase of 205.5 percent.

The Tanzanian tourism department estimated that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Tanzania grew from roughly 34,000 in 2019 to approximately 44,000 in 2023.

According to the China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation development report released in October 2023 by the Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, China has signed bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with 31 African countries and designated 34 African countries as outbound group tour destinations for Chinese citizens. Additionally, China and Africa have established 166 pairs of sister cities.

Both sides have been actively inviting each other to participate in tourism exhibitions and organize tourism promotion events, thereby creating platforms for the tourism sectors of China and Africa to exchange experiences, discuss business opportunities, and promote tourism products. China has also launched a bilateral cultural and tourism training cooperation plan to work with African countries in strengthening tourism capacity-building efforts.

Tourism industries of both sides have unique characteristics and are highly complementary, leading to mutual interaction, says Song Wei, professor with the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

With the deepening of the BRI, China and Africa have achieved fruitful results in areas, such as facilitating tourism visas, increasing direct flights, enhancing tourism safety and quality, and improving hotel and scenic spot infrastructure, as well as promoting tourism routes, Song notes.

Song suggests that China and Africa could further collaborate in infrastructure development, digital network capability building, and environmental and biodiversity protection to elevate bilateral tourism cooperation, so things can be more convenient for global tourists to explore Africa.