History of tourism in Africa

Travelling within Africa expanded during the colonisation of African countries during the
1600s and 1700s by European settlers. Settlers would arrive by boat and then move along
rivers, lakes and animal tracks, and develop routes into the interior of the continent (About
SA History n.d.).
Movement and settling of people in the interior of African countries was mostly done on
horseback, ox wagon or on foot. Did you know that it would take 2-3 months to walk from
Cape Town to Johannesburg (1 400 km)? There were no railroads, roads, cars, or public
transport – these came into being as the routes to the interior were developed. Towns
developed along a river where possible, so that animals and people could have access to
water (About SA History n.d.).
The discovery of the Witwatersrand goldfields in 1886 was a turning point in South Africa’s
history. The demand for franchise rights for English-speaking immigrants working on the
new goldfields was the pretext Britain used to go to war with the Transvaal and Orange Free
State in 1899. Both settlers, immigrants and soldiers were on the move across South Africa,
all requiring transport, places to stay for themselves and their animals, and food – the
beginning of the accommodation and culinary industries in South Africa (About SA History
n.d.).
Discovery of gold, diamonds, copper and minerals during the 1800s attracted settlers from
around the world and they brought their foods, cultures and habits with them. This is true of
both African and European settlers – people moved to find employment, riches and a new life
(About SA history n.d.). This is much the same as today – people still move around for
various reasons (migration).
Explorers needed access to food, water and local knowledge of the terrain as they moved
across the interior of Africa. Interaction with local communities provided knowledge and
support, and as transport routes developed across the continent, people followed. This
brought about the development of rest spaces for animals and people, opportunities to
exchange horses and oxen and in turn developed settlements, which became towns, and
routes which became roads.
South Africa is no different – settlements were at first concentrated along the coastline as
seafarers from around the world landed on African soil. The settlement at Cape Town was a
refuelling station for ships travelling between Europe and the East. Sailors and passengers
from the ships would require accommodation and food on landing, starting the hospitality
industry here.
In North Africa, Morocco, Libya, Egypt and cities such as Khartoum, Cairo and Kathmandu
as well as natural features, such as the Nile River and Lake Victoria, brought visitors and
explorers to discover sources of rivers and lakes and to follow fables of riches such as gold
and minerals. Contemporary tourism was at first introduced and developed by Europeans, for
European consumption. Wildlife and safari tourism is an example of this. Tourism
development on the continent was heavily influenced by colonial control, which also
influenced the development of key infrastructures, which in turn influenced the growth as
destination accessibility and the ability to travel around grew.
This is changing, as Africa is a continent of 54 independent countries, each with people who
have differing cultures, religions, beliefs and geography. Tourism is now developing
independently and differently in each country as each utilises its resources, natural
environment and strengths to attract international tourists (rather than just Europeans).
Community-based tourism is developing in Africa to encourage interaction (with open
communication, engagement and consultation with community
stakeholders), transparency (in terms of ownership areas of responsibility and liaison officers
to coordinate activities), analysis and evaluation (using best practices) and practical
issues/skills development and transferral (Page & Connell 2020).
The slave trade of past times resulted in Africans and other indigenous peoples being
removed from their countries to other parts of the world to work. Slave trade routes and roots
tourism (diaspora) have emerged as descendants of the slaves return to discover where their
forefathers came from. This is also true of other displaced peoples in the world, such as those
displaced by communism in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Descendants of
displaced peoples are interested to discover their roots, and their inherited cultures, resulting
in heritage tourism (Engelbrecht 2019).
History of transport
 Stagecoaches (pulled by horses) were invented in Hungary in the 15th century and
took people from “stage to stage”, hence the name. These improved in sophistication
until the 19th century which produced luxury stagecoaches with names like Comet and
Greyhound. Increased use of stagecoaches led to the need for hotels and taverns along
the routes (Lubbe 2003:21).
 The introduction of steam power resulted in the beginning of rail travel which
dramatically increased the growth of tourism and made mass tourism possible. The
train station became a central part of every community, and restaurants and hotels
sprang up around them. The railway era began to decline in the 1920s due to the
growth in the use of the car and bus.
 Henry Ford’s Model T marked the beginning of cars being accessible to the masses.
Now people could choose where to go and were not dependent on public transport
(we will refer to this again in TRT1602, learning unit 1). Motor coaches (buses)
followed soon after.
 South Africa’s modern road network has been planned and developed over the last 80
years or so, with its main trunk routes – the national roads (i.e. N1, N2, etc.) being
well built and maintained (by SANRAL) and having good road surfaces and signage
(The Heritage Portal 2022).
 Water travel had its own interesting developments. Ancient civilisations such as the
Phoenicians and Greeks were already using water transport before the birth of Christ.
In the 1700s and 1800s people were using ships to travel domestically as well as
internationally. However, travelling by sea was a rough option, with primitive
lodgings and dangers at sea such as pirates. Until 1830, travel by ship remained fairly
primitive and mainly for exploration purposes. With the introduction of steam, steam
ships offered excursions and long-haul travel, such as between the UK and USA.
 Ships like the Titanic offered a new form of luxury for first-class passengers. By 1957
approximately 1 million people were crossing the ocean annually on “liners” and it
was the main form of intercontinental travel (Lubbe 2003:23-24).
 A significant feature of tourism today is the modern cruise liner. We have already
referred to the cruises that went along the Nile River 5 000 years ago. In 2000,
evidence of cruising during the Roman Empire was discovered when divers off the
Sicilian coast found a 46 m cruise ship that is believed to have been used by rich
Romans to cruise along the Mediterranean. The ship has bedroom suites and
passenger lounges (Holloway & Humphreys 2020). In 1844 Arthur Anderson of the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company began offering affordable
organised sea cruises from England that stopped en route at ports in the Mediterranean
(Lubbe 2003:24).
Cruise tourism is a huge business industry today. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,
the cruise industry across the world hosted 29.7 million passengers. This generated jobs for
nearly 1.8 million individuals across the globe and gave approximately $150 billion to the
world's economy (Future Market Insights n.d.).
 Air travel initially caused a slight decline in cruising, and then ironically, it brought
more passengers to the cruise lines (Walker & Walker 2018). In learning unit 1 in
TRT1602, you will learn more about modern cruising. By the 1960s,
the aeroplane had taken over from ocean liners as the main form of long-haul travel.
The first aeroplane trip is widely believed to have been made by the Wright brothers
in the USA in 1903 (we will refer to this again in TRT1602, learning unit 1).
However, some historians believe the first flight happened far closer to home – near
Howick in South Africa in the 1870s! Goodman Household built a glider designed
according to how the vulture flew. He flew for nearly 250 m before colliding with a
tree and breaking his leg (Lubbe 2003:24)! After this period, there were numerous
aviation feats such as crossing the Atlantic (in 1927) in 28 hours and attempts to fly
long distances internationally. For example, the first flight by KLM (Koningklike
Lugt Magt) between Holland and South Africa (in 1939) took seven days and several
landings in between (Lubbe 2003:24-25)!