Tourism growth is on the rise in Africa, and yet limited empirical evidence exists that explores the factors that drive this important contributor of economic growth on the continent. Previous literature focuses mainly on developed countries. This study weighs in on the recent debate on African tourism by providing evidence on the role that economic uncertainties have on tourist arrivals. Using panel data from 1996 to 2017, we find that economic uncertainties reduce tourist arrivals in Africa in comparison to other global regions, such as Europe. Further disaggregation by African regions reveals that economic uncertainties in West and North African regions drive these adverse results. These regions have been the hardest hit by political instability and social unrest during the period under review, which may have acted as a deterrent to tourists.

非洲旅游业的增长正在上升，但是，经验不足的证据证明了驱动非洲大陆经济增长的重要因素的因素。以前的文献主要集中在发达国家。这项研究通过提供有关经济不确定性对游客人数的作用的证据，权衡了最近有关非洲旅游的辩论。使用1996年至2017年的面板数据，我们发现与欧洲等其他全球地区相比，经济不确定性减少了非洲的游客人数。非洲地区的进一步分类显示，西非和北非地区的经济不确定性推动了这些不利后果。在本报告所述期间，这些地区遭受了政治动荡和社会动荡的沉重打击，这可能对游客起到了威慑作用。