Africa Is Not a Country, But the Travel Industry Keeps Treating It Like One

When Ebola re-emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year, it was a contained outbreak. By travel industry standards, however, it was a continent-wide emergency.

“It’s affecting tourism across the whole of East Africa,” said Keith Vincent, CEO of Wilderness, one of Africa’s leading safari operators. “It hasn’t crossed the border out of the Congo, Uganda, and Sudan. But the world seems to punish us because it’s so scary. Africa is still treated like one place, when in reality, it’s a massive continent with a huge range of experiences.”

The perception shows up in booking data, in cancellations, and in the erosion of demand across destinations. 

“This Ebola outbreak is still confined to one region and the rest of the continent is open for travel,” said Virginia Messina group CEO of the African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA), which is working with Skift to research African tourism. “Our members are reporting that itinerari