“The number of tourists visiting African countries grew by almost 8 percent last year — the fastest growth in the world, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. This surge isn’t being driven only by visitors from Europe or Asia. It’s being driven in large part, experts say, by a growing African middle class that is exploring the continent for the first time…

Historically, the odds have been stacked against leisure travel here.

Most Africans still need visas to visit other African countries. Flights, too, are a challenge. Prices for flights within Africa are some of the highest in the world, and there are few direct ones. (I once had to travel via Doha, Qatar, on my way from Gambia to Namibia.)

But both issues have been improving in recent years.

Demand for air travel within Africa has been growing, and the more demand, the more airlines can put in place better routes. New airlines have sprung up across Africa; a journey from Accra, Ghana, to Johannesburg that once had to go through London or Dubai can now connect through, say, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said Omoniyi Kolade, the chief executive of SeerBit, a company that handles cross-border transactions in Africa.

And many countries, including Benin, Gambia, Kenya, Ghana and others, have scrapped visas for African passport holders in recent years. That shift, one travel influencer told me, has been a game changer.”

From New York Times.