Overall, hotel room revenue across African countries, including Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania, rose more than 12% last year – the biggest increase since 2013.

PwC’s annual review of the continent’s hotel industry shows that Mauritius and South Africa had the largest gains at 15.3% and 12.2% respectively. The latter’s hospitality sector is poised for further growth in the next five years, thanks to a number of planned hotels. This is forecast to bump up South Africa’s hotel room revenue by a CAGR of 9.3%, reaching ZAR24.8 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, room revenue is expected to grow by more than 10% in 2017, amounting to ZAR17.5 billion.

According to an Africa Business Communities report, the amendment of South Africa’s visa requirements has seen foreign tourism flourish – with international visitor rates increasing by 12.8% in 2016 compared to the 6.8% decrease it experienced in 2015.

4 July 2017
Image: Gallo/Getty Images