Chinese visitors answer Africa's call of the wild

Rich attractions

Africa has grown rapidly in popularity with the Chinese public over the past 15 years, thanks to deepening cooperation with China on the economy, education, and technology, experts and tourism industry insiders said. This has piqued the interest of more travelers from the mainland wanting to experience Africa in person, they added.

"China's outbound tourism to Africa started to scale upward around 2010 because of the addition of flights and optimized visa policies to the continent," said Yang Jinsong, director of the International Institute of the China Tourism Academy.

"Educational programs aired on some State-run channels popularizing knowledge about Africa and its landscape have also stimulated people's curiosity and yearning to travel there."

African countries' increased involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative for more than a decade has also burnished their reputation and popularity with Chinese people, which has benefited the continent's tourism industry.

Li Peng, who is in charge of long-distance tours for travel portal Tuniu, said Africa has attracted more adventurous young Chinese travelers in recent years. Middle-aged travelers with deep pockets and overseas travel experience used to be the main Chinese tourists to Africa.

Flights between China and Africa had been steadily increasing until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in late 2019.

"As tourism destinations have resumed operations in the post-epidemic era, so have the flights," said Li.

"So far, the number of nonstop flights between China and Africa has recovered to roughly 40 to 50 percent of the level in 2019. We've seen outbound tourism to the continent make a good recovery from November last year," he added.

In 2023, the number of overall international travelers to South Africa surged, according to official statistics from the country. Of those travelers, 37,000 were Chinese, marking a year-on-year rise of 205.5 percent.

Tanzania has also seen a jump in Chinese tourists from 34,000 in 2019 to 44,000 last year.

"Africa has abundant tourism resources — both natural and cultural," Li said.

"For example, northern Africa is rich in cultural relics and views like the pyramids in Egypt and the Sahara Desert. The eastern part of the continent is famous for its natural vistas and spectacular migrations of wild animals. Southern Africa has diversified landscapes including deserts, coastal views and grassland, offering Chinese travelers multiple cultural and nature experiences," he said.

Li said destinations including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Namibia have gained in popularity with Chinese travelers in recent years thanks to popular TV programs.