We encourage tourists to visit Africa as their contribution to poverty reduction especially at the local level by Africans getting benefits from tourism.Tourism is one of the leading "ready" exports and foreign exchange earners for most African countries.But almost 85% on money tourism earnings goes back to foreign investors or countries of origin of the tourists because most hotels,travel agencie
s,airlines lodges,ranches,villas etc are foreign owned. Tourism revenue to Africa is far bigger than foreign aid to Africa! Africa's share of global tourism revenues according to the UN is 3.6% and tourism accounts for more than 11% of Africa's GDP. Cultural tourism(homestay being part of it) accounts for 5% of global tourism and is growing at the rate of 20-30% per year according to World Tourism Organisation. Homestay tourism benefits the locals where the tourists LIVE,STUDY and do voluntary WORK. It is a pity that most governments and tourism institutions do not grasp this concept of locals benefitting from tourism.They are only interested in job creation , investment and tax payment as the communities along the tourist circuits live in abject poverty! Tourism must benefit the tourist and the locals.That is why we pioneer and champion homestay tourism ,cultural immersion and voluntary work concepts to help the communities along tourist circuits with homestay fees(paid to hosts),cross-cultural learning(how much of one's culture or heritage can a tourist learn in a hotel compared with staying with a local family?) and other community projects where guests volunteer.
