The Convener of the Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo and Managing Director of Afrocultour Limited, Chuks Akamadu, has urged African nations to fully harness the continent’s vast tourism and creative assets to drive economic transformation.
Akamadu said this would also deepen intra-African trade and increase the continent’s contribution to global commerce.
Akamadu made the call in Abuja during the maiden edition of the Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo, held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel , Abuja.
He described Africa’s current share of global trade, which stands at less than three percent, as “regrettable and beneath the continent’s potential,” despite its abundant natural and human resources.
Akamadu also lamented the low level of intra-continental trade, noting that “the figures do not reflect the continent’s rich economic opportunities.”
Explaining the motivation behind the Expo, he said it arose from the need for indigenous African institutions to take ownership of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and ensure that its objectives translate into shared economic prosperity.
According to him, Africa has failed to maximise its comparative advantage in tourism and the creative economy sectors that host globally competitive festivals, heritage sites and cultural events from Algeria and Botswana to Kenya and Nigeria.
These assets, he said, “could serve as major revenue sources for African nations if properly developed and promoted.”
Akamadu noted that the expo’s theme, “Optimizing Africa’s Comparative and Competitive Advantage for Accelerated Trade and Economic Growth,” seeks to interrogate why the world’s largest free trade area has yet to unlock its full potential in culture-driven economic growth.
He urged African countries to rise to the occasion, stressing that tourism and the creative economy remain viable pathways for significantly increasing Africa’s share of global trade from 3 percent to 10 percent and its share of global tourism revenue from 5 percent to 20 percent by 2030.