KIGALI, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Despite a significant increase in tourism and hotel sector investments in Africa, the sector's abundant potential remains largely untapped on the continent, delegates to a hotel investment forum said Wednesday.
They were speaking at the official opening of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) which kicked off on Tuesday in the Rwandan capital Kigali.
AHIF is a hotel investment conference that connects business leaders from the international and local markets, driving investment into tourism projects and infrastructure and hotel development across Africa.
Rwanda hosts the meeting from Oct. 10 to 12 that has attracted more than 500 delegates including hospitality executives from 45 different countries across Africa and beyond, to discuss all aspects of hotel investment and operation in Africa.
"The hospitality sector is one of the fastest emerging markets in Africa. Heavy investment in tourism and hotel sectors means job creation and increased revenue collection for the governments which creates strong economic growth among African countries," said Matthew Weihs, Managing Director of Bench Events, global event organizer.
He said Africa is becoming the new battleground for leading international hotel brands, but more investments are needed to meet increased demand from both international tourists and the continent's fast rising economic development.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Travel and tourism is seen as a highly attractive growth industry in Africa and is responsible for 8.1 percent of Africa's GDP and it is forecast to rise at 4.9 percent per annum until 2025.
WTTC in its 2017 report said that the sector was responsible for a total contribution of 7.8 percent (165.6 billion U.S dollars) of the GDP in 2016 for the continent; this is set to rise by 2.9 percent in 2017.
African hotel and tourism sector was forecast to grow by almost 17 percent in 2017, with accommodation demand increasing from the business travelers connecting to big African cities and many other African commercial capitals, as a reflection of strong economic growth, according to Ernst&Young Africa Attractiveness Survey 2016.
As the continent remains attractive to investors for business, trade and capital investment, it leads to an increasing demand for accommodation and hospitality products, said the survey.
