The Africa Tourism Leadership Forum 2026 opens in Polokwane this week. Its “Africa Connects” theme arrives at a critical moment as African countries seek practical ways to improve mobility, tourism connectivity, regional cooperation and sustainable growth.
Africa’s tourism story is often told through the lens of visitors arriving from outside the continent. Yet another narrative is steadily gaining ground one that may prove more decisive for the industry’s long-term future: Africans travelling Africa.
From a Ugandan visiting Kenya’s coast, a Kenyan exploring Rwanda’s gorillas, a South African travelling through Namibia, or a Ghanaian discovering Senegal, the potential for Africans to become a much larger tourism market for one another is substantial. Demand already exists. The challenge lies in making those journeys easier, more affordable and more routine.
Visa restrictions, limited air connectivity, infrastructure gaps, fragmented tourism policies and the high cost of regional travel still make many journeys within Africa surprisingly difficult. That is why the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) 2026, taking place 2–4 September in Polokwane, South Africa, deserves attention beyond the tourism industry itself.
Under the theme “Africa Connects,” the eighth edition of the forum brings together stakeholders from tourism, hospitality, aviation, government and the private sector to discuss strategies for strengthening intra-Africa travel and tourism. The larger question is whether Africa can move from talking about a connected tourism market to actually building one.
What Is Intra-Africa Tourism?
Intra-Africa tourism refers to people travelling between African countries for leisure, holidays, cultural experiences, business, events and other purposes. It differs from international tourism arriving from Europe, North America, Asia or other parts of the world.
Examples already in motion include Uganda to Kenya, Rwanda to Tanzania, Ghana to Senegal, and South Africa to Namibia. The opportunity is to make these journeys easier, more affordable and more attractive so that travelling within Africa becomes a normal part of the continent’s tourism economy.
This matters because tourism is not simply about visitors staying in hotels. It supports transportation, restaurants, attractions, guides, airlines, cultural enterprises, conservation initiatives, creative industries and thousands of small businesses. World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) data shows that Travel & Tourism contributed approximately USD 228 billion to Africa’s economy in 2025 (around 7% of regional GDP) and supported 30.2 million jobs. Domestic and intra-African spending accounts for a large share of that activity around 60% of total tourism spend in recent assessments highlighting the economic weight of African travellers themselves.
Why ATLF 2026 Matters
The Africa Tourism Leadership Forum is not a conventional tourism exhibition. It describes itself as a Pan-African dialogue platform that brings together stakeholders from travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation to develop strategies for intra-Africa travel and tourism growth while enhancing the brand equity of “Destination Africa.”
The 2026 edition takes place at Meropa Casino & Entertainment World in Polokwane from 2–4 September. The programme extends beyond the main forum to include business exchange sessions, masterclasses, an AfCFTA Forum on Tourism, Creative and Cultural Industries, networking activities, hosted buyers and media experiences. Organisers expect hundreds of delegates, including government representatives, tourism boards, airlines, hotel executives, investors and development partners.
The choice of Limpopo is significant. The province borders Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, positioning it within a region where cross-border movement, tourism corridors and regional trade are particularly relevant. ATLF presents Limpopo as a gateway to the Southern African Development Community and a practical case study for discussions around intra-Africa connectivity, cross-border trade and movement under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
The forum’s strategic pillars advocacy and policy, capacity building, and investment and innovation—reveal a clear recognition: the future of African tourism is not only about marketing destinations. It is also about fixing the systems that allow people to move between them.
Africa Has a Mobility Problem
Africa is a continent of more than 50 countries, yet crossing from one country to another can still be considerably more complicated than travelling between countries in other parts of the world.
The 2025 Africa Visa Openness Index, produced by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, provides some of the clearest evidence. Only 28.2% of recorded intra-African travel scenarios were visa-free in 2025 the highest level recorded by the index, but still a minority of possible country-to-country journeys. In 51.1% of scenarios, travellers were required to obtain a visa before travel. Visa-on-arrival access fell to 20.4% of travel scenarios, its lowest level recorded.
There has been progress. Visa-free travel increased from 20% in 2016 to 28.2% in 2025 a roughly 40% relative improvement over the decade. Thirty-nine countries have improved their scores since the first report in 2016. Rwanda and The Gambia retained the highest openness rankings, both offering visa-free access to all African citizens. Kenya ranked third after reforms to its electronic travel authorisation system that exempted citizens of 52 African countries. Ghana opened visa-free access to African passport holders from January 2025. E-visa systems expanded to 31 countries (57% of the continent), up from nine in 2016.
Yet progress has not been fast enough to create seamless continental mobility. In 2025, 20 countries changed their visa policies affecting African citizens; 11 improved their scores while nine declined. The number of travel scenarios requiring a visa ahead of travel rose from 1,348 in 2024 to 1,463 in 2025. A traveller’s passport can still determine how easily they experience another part of the continent.
There Is Progress and It Is Worth Recognising
It would be misleading to present Africa’s mobility situation as though nothing is changing. Several countries have made significant reforms that demonstrate policy change is possible.
Kenya’s climb of 43 places in the 2025 index after exempting most African citizens from its eTA process set an important marker. Rwanda has maintained full visa-free access for Africans since 2023. Ghana’s 2025 decision to open visa-free entry to African passport holders expanded the group of relatively open destinations. These examples show that political will can shift openness rankings relatively quickly. The challenge is scaling such reforms across the continent rather than leaving them as isolated national successes.
The Bigger Issue May Be Air Connectivity
Even when a traveller does not need a visa, they still need a practical way to get there. Aviation remains one of the most important and most constrained pieces of the intra-Africa tourism puzzle.
Recent analysis of airline connectivity across African cities shows that African carriers provide much of the continent’s intra-African network, yet route networks remain relatively inflexible due to structural and regulatory barriers. Intra-African passenger volumes lag behind both domestic and intercontinental traffic. In data reported by African airlines, intercontinental routes often account for the largest share of passengers, while intra-African volumes remain smaller relative to potential. Connectivity between major regions (East–West, North–South) is particularly weak.
For travellers, this produces a familiar outcome: two destinations may be geographically close, yet reaching one from the other can be expensive, inconvenient or require indirect routing through distant hubs. Destination choice is then shaped less by preference and more by what is logistically and financially feasible. That is a tourism problem as much as an aviation one.
The Yamoussoukro Decision Has Been Waiting for Its Moment
The challenge of African aviation integration is not new. African governments adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision in 1999 with the objective of liberalising air transport markets and improving connectivity. The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was launched in 2018 as a flagship African Union initiative to create a more liberalised single air transport market.
Implementation has remained uneven. As of recent counts, around 35–38 African states have joined SAATM, representing a large share of the continent’s existing aviation market, yet fewer have fully domesticated the principles into national law or operational practice. Progress has produced new routes and incremental passenger growth in some corridors, but restrictive bilateral agreements, high taxes, fees and charges, and protectionist tendencies continue to limit competition and route development.
Full implementation of SAATM has been projected to increase intra-African traffic substantially, create tens of thousands of aviation and tourism jobs, and support broader trade and integration goals. Tourism depends heavily on connectivity. Destination marketing alone cannot unlock demand if convenient and affordable routes are missing.
Regional Tourism Is Already Showing What Is Possible
East Africa provides a useful illustration. Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are geographically close and collectively offer an extraordinary combination of experiences: mountain gorillas, chimpanzee trekking, savannah wildlife, the Great Migration, mountains, culture and the Indian Ocean coast.
A traveller could realistically build a single journey around several of these: Uganda to Kenya to Tanzania to Zanzibar. Instead of selling four separate destinations in isolation, the region can package connected tourism experiences. Similar potential exists in other clusters Southern Africa’s cross-border parks and circuits, or West African cultural and coastal routes. The geography and attractions already exist; the missing element is often the connectivity and policy coordination that would make multi-country itineraries routine rather than exceptional.
Uganda Offers an Interesting Case Study
Uganda’s own tourism and infrastructure development illustrates why connectivity matters beyond individual airports. In June 2026, the African Development Bank Group approved €155.99 million to upgrade Arua Airport as Phase 1 of the Uganda Airports Development Programme.
The planned works include a 3.5-kilometre paved runway capable of handling large aircraft such as the Boeing 777, new taxiways and aprons, a passenger terminal designed for 700,000 travellers annually, and a cargo terminal with capacity for 25,000 tonnes per year, plus a new control tower, access roads, parking and modern safety systems. The total programme cost is approximately €157.76 million.
Located in Uganda’s West Nile region, roughly 450 kilometres from Kampala, Arua is positioned as a gateway to neighbouring markets in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank explicitly links the upgrade to tourism, trade and regional integration. The project is expected to create about 500 direct jobs during construction and more than 1,400 indirect jobs in tourism, agriculture and trade, while providing skills training for young people. This is a concrete example of how transport infrastructure multiplies benefits across tourism, trade, investment, employment and regional mobility the same logic that applies across Africa.
COMESA Is Working on the Regional Tourism Framework
Almost simultaneously, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are developing a COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Framework, Implementation Plan and regional tourism business cases covering COMESA’s 21 member states.
The first consultative workshop was held in Diani, Kenya, in April 2026. Stakeholders identified barriers limiting tourism’s contribution to regional growth: fragmented tourism policies, limited regional coordination, infrastructure constraints and barriers to cross-border travel. The framework aims to strengthen tourism competitiveness, promote sustainable investment, enhance regional integration and support implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and COMESA’s strategic plan. Discussions have emphasised diversification beyond wildlife-centric models toward urban, cultural, creative, blue, eco-, agri- and medical tourism, alongside improved mobility and connectivity.
This marks a shift from purely national tourism strategies toward coordinated regional planning an important evolution if intra-Africa tourism is to scale.
What Does AfCFTA Have to Do With Tourism?
The African Continental Free Trade Area is primarily associated with trade in goods, but its significance extends to services. Tourism is a service industry: hotels provide accommodation, tour operators provide travel services, airlines provide transport, guides provide professional services, and restaurants, cultural enterprises and entertainment businesses all participate in the tourism economy.
Tourism and travel-related services are among the five priority sectors under the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services (alongside business, communications, financial and transport services). Progressive liberalisation of these services, combined with reduced barriers to the movement of people, investment and businesses, can strengthen tourism as part of broader African economic integration. ATLF 2026 reflects this connection directly through its AfCFTA Forum on Tourism, Creative and Cultural Industries.
Intra-Africa Tourism Is Also About African Travellers
There remains a tendency to discuss African tourism mainly in terms of attracting international visitors. That market remains important Africa welcomed strong international growth in recent years but African travellers themselves represent a significant and still under-served opportunity.
Consider the potential: a young professional in Nairobi taking a long weekend in Kampala; a family from Kampala visiting Zanzibar; a South African couple exploring Botswana; a Ghanaian traveller discovering Senegal; a Nigerian attending a cultural festival in Rwanda. These travellers do not need to be sold the idea that Africa is exotic. They already understand the continent. What they need is accessible information, reasonable prices, convenient transport and straightforward border procedures.
That requires a different tourism marketing and product mindset one focused on ease, relevance and value for regional travellers rather than solely on long-haul international markets. Data indicating that domestic and intra-African spending accounts for a large share of total tourism expenditure on the continent underscores the scale of this opportunity.
The Opportunity for African Tourism Businesses
If regional travel becomes easier, the biggest change may occur at the business level. Tour operators could build cross-border partnerships rather than operating exclusively within national boundaries. Hotels could collaborate with operators in neighbouring countries. Airlines could develop tourism-focused regional routes. Travel platforms could make multi-country journeys easier to book. Destination marketing organisations could promote regional circuits rather than only individual countries.
For smaller tourism businesses, partnerships could be particularly powerful. A Ugandan company does not need to establish an office in Kenya to sell a Kenya–Uganda itinerary; it can build a trusted partnership with a Kenyan operator. The Kenyan operator can do the same in Tanzania. Together they create connected regional products that none could easily offer alone. This kind of collaboration can expand the market for SMEs while improving the overall visitor experience.
But More Tourism Isn’t Automatically Better Tourism
This is where the conversation around sustainable tourism becomes critical. If Africa succeeds in making travel easier, visitor numbers could increase. Destinations must ensure that growth does not damage the resources that attract visitors.
Wildlife areas can experience pressure. Communities can be excluded from tourism benefits. Cultural sites can be commercialised without adequate protection. Infrastructure can struggle to keep pace. Environmental impacts can rise. Therefore the objective should not simply be “more tourists.” It should be better tourism systems that deliver economic value while protecting destinations and benefiting communities. This aligns with the direction of the COMESA–UNECA tourism framework, which places sustainable investment, competitiveness, regional integration and inclusive growth at the centre of the initiative.
What Should ATLF 2026 Actually Achieve?
This is perhaps the most important question. The forum’s programme brings together government, private-sector and industry stakeholders, but the real test will come after the discussions.
Several areas deserve particular attention:
- More practical visa reforms — The 28.2% visa-free figure shows progress, but also how much remains. African travellers need predictable, affordable and simple entry procedures.
- Better regional aviation — Connectivity should be treated as tourism infrastructure. More routes, greater competition and lower barriers could make multi-country travel significantly more viable.
- Stronger regional tourism products — Countries should look beyond competing for the same traveller and explore complementary regional experiences.
- More investment in tourism infrastructure — Airports, roads, border facilities, digital systems and accommodation all shape the visitor experience.
- Greater participation by SMEs — Tourism growth should not benefit only major hotel groups and airlines. Local tour operators, guides, restaurants, artisans and community enterprises need opportunities to participate in the regional tourism economy.
- Sustainable growth — Regional tourism development must protect ecosystems, heritage and communities.
What Could Africa Look Like If Travel Becomes Easier?
Imagine a continent where a traveller can plan a multi-country holiday without spending weeks navigating complicated visa processes. Imagine regional flights designed around actual tourism demand. Imagine tourism operators collaborating across borders. Imagine travellers choosing destinations based on experiences rather than the complexity of getting there.
A traveller could wake up in Uganda’s rainforest, fly to Kenya for a savannah safari, continue to Tanzania for the Serengeti and finish on Zanzibar’s coast. The geography already exists. The tourism attractions already exist. The businesses already exist. The missing piece is often the connectivity between them.
Africa’s Tourism Future May Be Regional
The significance of ATLF 2026 is therefore bigger than a three-day tourism forum. It arrives at a time when several pieces of the African integration puzzle are moving simultaneously.
The Africa Visa Openness Index shows gradual progress in visa-free travel, although more than half of measured travel scenarios still require visas before departure. COMESA and UNECA are advancing a regional sustainable tourism framework designed to strengthen competitiveness, investment and integration. Research continues to highlight the structural challenges affecting intra-African aviation connectivity, while SAATM implementation remains a work in progress. Infrastructure investments such as Uganda’s Arua Airport upgrade demonstrate how connectivity is becoming part of broader regional development strategies.
These developments point in the same direction. Africa is gradually moving from thinking about tourism destinations individually toward thinking about tourism as part of a connected regional economy.
The Question Is No Longer Whether Africans Want to Travel Africa
The demand is already there. The bigger question is whether governments, airlines, tourism businesses and regional institutions can remove enough of the barriers to make that travel easier.
The Africa Tourism Leadership Forum 2026, beginning 2 September in Polokwane, provides an important opportunity to discuss that challenge at a continental level. Its theme “Africa Connects” is particularly timely.
Africa has the wildlife. It has the landscapes. It has the cultures. It has the cities, beaches, mountains, forests and heritage sites. What it increasingly needs is a tourism system that allows Africans to experience more of them.
The future of African tourism may not simply be about getting the world to visit Africa. It may be about making it easier for Africa to visit itself.
