The intra African cooperation on tourism : the joint promotion of the African tourist product

Abstract

The various reports on the development of tourism in Africa often show that this development rate is low in comparison with the potentialities of the continent. As a matter of fact, even if the earnings of the intra – regional tourism are assessed at about six billions of US dollars, such amount hardly represents 3% of the world records in this sector, through the main ingredients of the tourist product are still untouched in Africa. The African media as well as some of their foreign colleagues , display too much of the negative side of the social , cultural and political changes occurring in the continent to the prejudice of the permanent everyday values in which lie the genius people and the African authenticity. The promotion of the continent’s global image is then left to ht professionals of tourism who, unfortunately, do not dispose of the appropriate resources. In such circumstances, the Afro – pessimism is quick annulling the attractiveness of the black continent and reducing to none all the effects made to promote the African tourism. While the developed countries give an increasing importance to tourism as a vital factor of development and integration, some ‘’advisers’’ go on convincing the African countries that tourism is a marginal activity reserves for rolling in wealth visitors.